Forever With You
by HPfanonezillion
Summary: Sydney traded in her life of "adventure" as an Alchemist to work with her mother in her garage. Adrian looks forward to meeting her family and getting to know them as he and Sydney make their way to the altar.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: There will be some scenes in here that I have been wanting to do for a while. I hope you like it. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to voice them. I don't mind. In fact I like to know if you think there is anything that needs to be fixed._

_The title comes from a musical Last 5 Years, particularly the song The Next Ten Minutes. I adore the song even though the play is about a rocky marriage that doesn't last. This one song is their wedding song in the middle. It's quite a unique play, but I won't bore you with the details and my nerdy-ness.  
_

_Happy reading!  
_

Forever With You

A Sydrian Fanfiction

By Danielle Cheri

Chapter One

"Are you sure about this?" I asked yet again. We were standing in the middle of a jewelry store. I never expected to be in one of these with anyone, much less Adrian.

"Of course I am." Adrian replied. "I have been from the moment I met you. So are you going to pick one or am I?"

"If you were traditional about all this, you'd pick it."

"If I were traditional, I would have made a special dinner and got down on one knee. Instead, I asked in the middle of making out with you. I'm surprised you agreed. Anyway, you're the one who has to wear it, Sydney. And with the garage, I want you to have something you'll be able to wear with grease stained hands." He gave me his signature smirk. "So pick something. And don't just point at the first ring you see. You'll have to wear it the rest of your life. Well, except when you're working."

I smiled. "I just need something simple." I leaned over a counter. "You could have easily found something."

"And you could have easily refused." He leaned close to me. "I'm beginning to think the only reason you're marrying me is so that we can go to the next step after all this time."

I felt my cheeks turning red. "I'm not answering that one in public. Only to say that I'm not the only one."

"Hello." A woman stepped up to us on the other side of the counter. "Is there something I can help you find?"

Adrian spoke up before I could, "My beautiful fiancée needs an engagement ring. But something simple. And something that will compliment engine grease under her fingernails." He grinned at me.

I smiled back and leaned into him when he slipped his arm around my waist. "I like that one." I pointed to a silver band with a small diamond chip.

"No, definitely not. I'm buying you a diamond, Sydney. Not dust. What about the one under it?"

The one under it had a huge rock that almost dwarfed the gold band.

"No. It's far too big."

"Then that one." He pointed to one that was only slightly smaller than the one he'd just pointed out.

"Adrian, I'm not playing around. I don't want a big ring. You're paying for the entire wedding already. The ring isn't going to break the budget."

"And it won't. I have the money. I've been saving up for quite a while. You don't have to worry. Get the ring you want."

"Okay, I want that one." I pointed to the first again.

"And I say no."

"You said it was my choice."

"Yes, but I want something you can show off at Court."

"I can't go to Court with you." I hissed back.

He heaved a deep sigh.

"Then you pick it and give it to me later. I don't want to fight about this."

"Just try a few on, okay? We'll see what looks best and I'll make the final decision. Unless you fall completely in love with something."

I agreed and tried on a few. I was drawn to one that had a scroll design on the band that reminded me a little about the tattoo on my cheek. I didn't like how much I was compelled toward it.

"I kind of like it." Adrian said, picking up my hand and looking at it. "The stone is the perfect size."

"But the scrollwork—"

He brushed his fingers on my cheek. "I know."

"I want this one."

"Then let me do something I should have done the last time." He kneeled down on the floor of the jewelry store. He turned to the clerk. "I know you've probably seen this a trillion times and I apologize." He turned back to me. "Sydney Sage, love of my life, center of my universe, will you please do me the honor of spending the rest of your life with me?"

I smiled and pulled him to his feet. "Yes, of course I will." I said as I pressed my lips to his. I stepped away and turned to the clerk. "I think about a half a size smaller." I pulled the ring off and handed it back.

"Let me start the paperwork." She took the ring and walked away.

Adrian wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. "I'll get you a nice ring stand to put it on while you're in the garage."

"You should come in and see me some time. I'd love to look under the hood of that beautiful Mustang of yours."

"You can do that any time."

"Any time you come visit."

"I'll be doing it a lot more. We have to find a house."

"I have a house."

"You have a shack. I need more rooms to rattle around in. And to fill with offspring."

"No kids." I said adamantly. "And you know why. I'm not going to talk about this with you here."

"Okay, my dear. Anything for you." He kissed me and then stepped away.

The clerk returned and checked the sized before she wrote it down. Adrian passed over his credit card and told her to put the whole price on it.

A short time later, we left. The ring would be ready in a week.

Adrian handed over his keys.

"You know me so well."

"Maybe I should have just bought you an engagement car."

I giggled as I started the engine and put the car into gear. "It would have been a little easier to pick." I changed gears and gunned the engine as I pulled out onto the highway.

"You can have this one." He said casually.

"You can't be serious."

"I am. I'll fly back to Court this time. Eddie can pick me up. And then I'll get a new car and drive back. I've got my eye on a place to rent in town. I'd move in with you, but you're the one who's traditional on that front."

"You _could_ move in. But you're just going to have to sleep in the spare room."

"You mean the spare closet."

"I'm not making a lot, Adrian. That house is all I can afford."

"Not if you'd let me—"

"Stop. We need to stop fighting about your money. We have to come to some sort of agreement."

"A pre-nup?"

"Yeah, something like that. I don't like feeling like I'm a kept woman. And that's how it feels when you just hand me things. I can't take this car. I can't take a rent house you're paying for until we're married. I can't take all the extravagant things I know you want to give me for the wedding. Just let me do it my way. My father won't be coming and neither will yours. So there's no point in having anything big anyway."

He put his hand on top of mine on the gearshift. "I just want you to have everything you need."

"All I need is you, Adrian." I curled my finger around his.

"Aw, that's sweet. And all I need is you. Without your shirt on."

I slapped his chest with the back of my hand. "From sweet fiancé to sexist pig in a matter of seconds. I love you too."

"Yeah, well I'm a guy. I know I won't get sex, but I want it." He gave me a sardonic grin. "And it's not like I didn't have you half naked last night."

"Yes, well, I was wearing my bra."

"Like you have been for over a year. Can't we move on to completely bare chests at the very least?"

"And can't you just be happy that we're together?" I asked, frustrated.

"I am." He put his hand on my arm. "I am happy. I wouldn't have asked you to marry me if I wasn't. We'll work it out."

"Okay." My phone rang.

Adrian dug it out of my purse when I asked. "Your mom. You want me to answer?"

"If you want. But don't breathe a word of the engagement yet."

"No problem, babe." He put the phone to his ear. "Hello, Mrs. Sage. Your state is lovely this time of year."

My breath caught. I hadn't told her about Adrian's visit. I hadn't told her about the last one either. I just claimed to be tired every evening when she invited me home for dinner. Of course she knew I was avoiding Dad since I was no longer an Alchemist.

"Well, I think it's about time we meet in person, too. I'm beginning to think your daughter is ashamed of her vampire boyfriend."

I reached over and pinched his thigh. "Don't say the 'v' word." I scolded.

"Dinner tonight sounds great. You're cooking?... What can I bring?... I'm sure I can scrounge up something… She's driving my car right now… We're almost back to her place, we can keep talking. Tell me some embarrassing story about Sydney as a kid."

The last minutes until I pulled into my driveway were agony. I didn't know what my mother was telling him, but he was getting a kick out of it. I took the phone as soon as the engine was off. I handed Adrian back his keys in exchange.

"So dinner tonight? Is Dad home?"

"No, remember? He left a couple days ago and won't be back for at least a few days. And Carly is in town. She says you two never talk anymore."

"I've been busy. You know that. We work together."

"You get off at six."

"I'm not used to manual labor. I've only been there a few months." I put my purse and keys by the front door and watched Adrian make himself comfortable on my couch.

"Be here at seven." She said.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I can't wait to meet him."

"And I can't wait for you to." I finally got her off the phone and stretched out on top of Adrian. "I'm not going to tell them tonight."

"Good plan. 'Meet my vampire boyfriend, or rather fiancé.' Yeah, that wouldn't go over very well."

"A vampire boyfriend is enough for my father to hate me."

"He doesn't hate you." He said as he smoothed his hand down my back. "He can't hate you."

"Why?"

"Because you're his daughter."

"He would rather have had a son."

"But he has three great daughters. And if he doesn't get that, despite the company you keep, then to hell with him."

I kissed him softly. "But he's still my father."

"And he always will be." His hands slipped under my shirt. "We have an hour."

"We do." I pushed his hands away. "But I'm not in the mood for that. I have to mentally prepare myself for this." I sat up. "And you promised to bring something. I have to figure that out."

"I have that bottle of wine I brought."

"We don't drink." I got up and went into the kitchen.

"I can whip up a quick cake. No problem." He took over the kitchen and I watched him work in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note: I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate) and (or) a very lovely weekend. This is the last update that will happen for a while as I do a lot of traveling for the holiday. The next chapter will probably start right where this stops. So it will be a wonderful, fun chapter. Keep your eye out for that one somewhere next week possibly._

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Two

My mother ran out as soon as we pulled in. "Sydney, I need to warn you before you go in."

"What?" I asked, alarmed.

Adrian walked over and I gave him his keys back.

"Hi, Adrian." My mom said quickly before turning back to me. "Your just father came home. I told him you were coming over with your boyfriend and he went into a rage. He doesn't want you to be here."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Mom."

"Well, it's my house too. And I want you here. I fought for you, Sydney. And I reminded him that you aren't one of his anymore. He locked himself in his office. He refuses to come out."

"We shouldn't be here." I took the cake from Adrian and handed it to Mom. "I'm sorry. I don't want to cause trouble with you and Dad. You have to live here."

She looked at the cake pan in her hands and then back at me. I could see the tears in her eyes. "You're my daughter, too. I want you here."

"I know." I looked to Adrian. "Maybe we can have dinner at my house tomorrow. Dad doesn't have to come if he doesn't want to."

She gave the vampire standing beside me an apologetic smile. "I want a chance to get to know you more, Adrian. You seem like a great guy." She looked over my shoulder. She gave a nod of approval. "You were right about that car. Very nice." She looked back toward the house and sighed. "Just come inside. He has to get used to this."

"I don't want a fight with him. I don't want you to suffer from it."

"You're my daughter, too, Sydney. I won't lose you just when I'm getting you back."

"Mom, we work together. You see me every day."

"I could still lose you." She draped an arm around my shoulder and led me to the door.

I reached out and grabbed Adrian's hand and pulled him along.

My father was standing in the kitchen when we walked in. He froze. He pointed. "I don't want that creature in my house."

"He's welcome, Jared." She turned to Carly and Zoe. "Come meet your sister's boyfriend."

My father stood in the middle of the room, visibly seething. His arms were crossed over his chest. My sisters greeted Adrian. Carly was full of unveiled kindness. Zoe shook his hand with apprehension.

"You have a very lovely family, Mr. Sage." Adrian commented.

My father snorted and shook his head. He made a plate from the food that was still on the stove and then left the room.

Mom sighed and then said, "Come have a seat." She walked over to the stove and started putting pots and pans in the middle of the table.

I helped while Carly and Adrian had an animated talk about art. Carly had taken an art appreciation class and enjoyed it, but she kept with the practical course and was now working toward a law degree.

"I'd like to see some of your work sometime." She said.

"I can show you one on my phone." He took out the device and tapped the screen a few times before handing it over.

"I hope that's not one of me." I said as I sat beside Zoe across from him.

"They're all of you." He said with that signature smirk.

"Wow, this is great." Carly said, she zoomed in and moved it around. "I'd love to see this in real life. Look, Mom." She passed the phone over.

"Beautiful, Adrian." Mom commented.

He smiled and looked embarrassed at the praise. "Thank you." He took the phone back and looked across to Zoe. "Would you like to see?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you." She said quickly.

Adrian eventually had all of us laughing and even coaxed a few smiles out of Zoe. Mom winked at me. I guess that meant I had her approval.

"Can I see your fangs?" Zoe asked tentatively as we got up from the table.

"Why would you want that?" He asked her gently. "Don't you see enough of vampires in your profession?"

"Dad won't let me interact with them unless he's around. Which is stupid."

Adrian smiled and nodded. "Not all of them are as kind or as awesome as me." He raised his top lip away from his teeth, showing his fangs for a moment. "And I hope you're satisfied with that." He patted her shoulder. "You'll be as good as your sister at this. I can tell." He leaned in. "Maybe even better, but don't tell her I said that."

I poked a finger into his ribs. "I heard that. But you're right. Zoe wants this, so she will do all she has to do to make herself the best."

She gave me a grateful smile. "I want to make the organization better." She said boldly. She looked at the closed door down the hall to our father's office. "We need to convince him. This guy's not really so bad. And if he's not, that means not all of them are."

"We're not." Adrian assured her. "In fact, our queen is one of the best. And I'm not just saying that because we're friends." His phone buzzed in his pocket and he looked at the screen.

"Who was that?" I asked when he put the phone away with a grin.

"Jill." He told the others, "The queen's sister. She's also pretty cool, I guess."

"She'll get you for that one." I warned.

We sat and talked in the living room for a while before Adrian and I made our way out. He kissed my mother's hand.

Mom and Carly pulled me back into the kitchen while he and Zoe made plans to have a better discussion of Moroi politics verses Alchemist politics.

"I love him." Carly gushed. "Please tell me we can keep him."

"Well, I was going to wait for a while to tell you…" I started.

"What?" My mom asked anxiously.

"He asked me to marry him. And I said yes."

Carly threw her arms around me and held me tight. Mom waited until she was done and then pulled me into a more subdued hug.

She held me at arm's-length. "Are you sure?"

"We're going to have a very long engagement. He's going to move here and rent a house eventually and we'll start all our plans then."

"Aw, man, I wanted to be here when you told them." Adrian said from the doorway.

"Sorry. I couldn't keep it in any longer. I guess I'm more excited about it than I thought."

"Excited about what?" Zoe asked.

"Adrian and I are engaged." I said nervously. I knew that her approval was still very tentative.

"Hm." She said, looking between us. "I don't know about this. It goes against everything."

"I know."

"Let me think about this before I say anything." She looked at Adrian. "It was nice meeting you, though." She turned and walked out of the room.

I said my final goodbyes to Mom and Carly and looked longingly down the hall. He wouldn't let me in even if I begged. I brushed my fingers over my cheek a moment and then turned toward the door. "Thanks for dinner."

"Yes, Mrs. Sage, thank you." Adrian said kindly.

"You are always welcome in my home." Mom said. She hugged him and kissed his cheek.

We left the house hand-in-hand.

He took his keys out of his pocket. "Are you driving?"

"No, you drive."

"I think that went fairly well." He said as he drove down the road.

"Yeah. Except for my dad. And you had Zoe eating out of your hand until I told her about the engagement."

"Your dad's not going to like it much."

"Yours isn't either." I leaned over and rested my hand on his thigh. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. Are you?" He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it.

"We have fifty percent full support. A little from Zoe and I think you can sway her if you're with her a little more. She loves a good debate and I know you'll give her one."

"I want you to meet the rest of my family."

"I've met most of them."

"All the Moroi royals are related somehow."

"Well, Jill has been sending me a lot of pictures of her niece and of Lissa now in her sixth month with baby number two. She wants me to come meet her."

"Dimitri and Rose don't let that baby out of their sight. It's actually kind of cute. And Lissa and Christian are happy to let them help raise her while they guard her." I caught a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"You want children?" I asked softly.

"We don't have to talk about it. We've run it into the ground."

"We have. But I don't know if you get it."

"So tell me." He said softly as he pulled into my driveway.

"I don't even completely know what I am. We don't know what our child would become."

"A human and a Moroi create a dhampir. You know that." he teased.

"And _you_ know that I'm not exactly human. You know with my magic and all." That subject still scared me despite now being engaged to a powerful Spirit user.

He nodded in the dark. "We could potentially have dhampirs who can wield magic. And I personally think that's pretty awesome."

"I know you do." I got out of the car and started the search for my keys on the way to the front door.

"Hey." He hurried up to me. "Don't shut me out. Let's talk about this."

"Magic or no, Adrian, I don't want to have children just to send them off to fight." I opened the front door and walked in.

"We don't have to."

"There are so few dhampirs as it is."

"But that doesn't mean that if we have kids that they will come and rip them away from us in the name of defense."

"But I don't want to risk it." I wrapped my arms around his waist and looked up at him. "At least not right away. Let's do all of this slowly. We plan our wedding and find a house and get married. And then, in a few more years, we can revisit this discussion."

He brushed his fingers over my left cheek. "Okay."

I rested my head on his shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you, Sydney." He kissed the top of my head.

"Let's go to bed." I took his hand and led him toward my room.

"But I'm not tired."

"I'm not either." I smiled over my shoulder.

"Will you take your bra off this time?"

"We'll just have to see about that one." I pulled his shirt off over his head before we fell onto the bed.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: Merry Christmas! I hope you have all had a lovely time and got all you wanted! And if this was one of the things you wanted, you're welcome. lol_

_Thank you for all the love from here and on Tumblr. You guys are awesome!  
_

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Three

I pushed Adrian down on the bed and leaned over him. I kissed his mouth softly again and again as I ran my hands over his bare torso. I trailed kisses down his neck and across his shoulder. His hands slid under my shirt and rested on my back as I worked my way back to his mouth.

He pulled my shirt off over my head and then rolled me over onto my back. He kissed down my chest, brushing his fingers over my covered breasts as he kissed just below the band of my bra.

"Hold on." I pushed him up and reached behind my back.

"What are you doing?"

"Something you've been asking me to do for a while." I unhooked the garment and let it slide down my arms. I dropped it on the floor beside the bed and caught my lip between my teeth as Adrian took me in.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine as he wrapped his arms around me and lowered me to the bed once more. He once again moved his mouth lower on my body. He kissed the valley between my now-exposed breasts. As he moved over the mounds, his teeth scraped over them.

My breath caught sharply and he jerked his head up.

"I'll try not to do that again." He promised, lowering his head once more and brushing his lips over my skin. His tongue flicked out as he moved back up to my mouth.

I scraped my nails lightly over his skin and he moaned into my mouth. His hips bucked and I could feel the bulge in his pants. I broke my mouth away.

"Time to stop, then?" He panted.

"I…I think so." I replied. "That's usually the point."

He nodded, but didn't move. "How much longer?"

"I don't know. Just not yet. I'm sorry."

He sighed and rolled away.

"I really am sorry." I reiterated.

"Don't apologize. It's fine." But I could tell by his tone it really wasn't.

"I don't want you to leave after it happens." I admitted softly.

He turned his head sharply. "And what makes you think I'd do that?"

"It's just this fear I have. I have a lot of those."

He rolled to his side and draped an arm over me. "I know. But you'll be okay. I love you, Sydney. I asked you to marry me. I'm not going to run after we have sex. I'm wouldn't be a good man if I did that. And I want to be a great man. I want to be someone our kids, should we ever have them, can look to and respect. Unlike my father. Unlike your father. I want better for you than some guy who just wants you for your body. I mean, this is great." He started moving his hands slowly over my body. "And I can wait to see the rest of it. It took you over a year to let me see your boobs. I can wait another year or more to experience the rest."

"Adrian, you cannot be real. But I've never been with anyone else really, so I don't have any way to compare."

"I'm real, Syd. And you are too. You make it okay for me to be like this because you deserve it." He kissed me softly and then rolled out of the bed. "Now if you will excuse me, I need some time alone."

I watched as he left the room and then dressed for bed while he was gone. I turned out the light, leaving on the bedside lamp. I leaned against my headboard and picked up my book.

Adrian came back in and I watched over my book as he changed. He flexed when he noticed me watching, turning this way and that, showing his body off. I put the book down and watched unhindered.

"I need some music or something." He said as he started to dance around the room in his underwear.

I laughed. "You need to get some clothes on. You're ruining my delicate sensibilities."

He chuckled and pulled on the rest of his clothes. "Sure, we'll say that."

I laughed again and went back to reading.

Adrian got into the bed and kissed my shoulder. "Good night." He rolled away and promptly fell asleep.

A short time later, I put the book away and rolled behind him. He shifted in his sleep and grabbed my hand. He clumsily kissed my palm and then held it to his chest.

"I love you." I whispered as I settled in.

* * *

The alarm blared far too soon the next morning. I reached over and turned it off before turning over and reaching for Adrian. But he wasn't there. I got out of bed and went in search of him.

"Adrian?"

"In the kitchen." He called.

"Why are you awake?"

"I've been awake most of the night. You know, vampire. Not used to sleeping at night. I'm probably going to go back to sleep once you're at work." He pulled a pan of biscuits out of the oven. "But I wanted to make breakfast for you."

"I need to shower." I walked around the small island that separated the kitchen from the living room and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind and kissed his neck. "I'll be right out."

"No rush. Fried or scrambled eggs?"

"Scrambled. Eggs whites only, please."

He sighed. "Okay."

"Thank you." I patted his back as I stepped away.

"Have I told you how hot you look lately?" He asked as I walked out of the room.

"Stop it." I blushed.

"Hey, can I join you in the shower?" he called.

I stepped back into my bedroom. "What happened to waiting a year to see the rest of me?"

"Just because I said I would doesn't mean I'm not going to try to see it sooner, baby."

"Don't call me baby." I gathered my clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.

I showered quickly, not wanting to be away from Adrian for too long.

He placed a cup of coffee in my hands as I walked to the table.

"You are a saint." I said before I took a sip. I sighed. "Perfect."

"You're welcome. May I have a kiss for my efforts?"

I gathered a handful of his t-shirt and pulled him down for the requested kiss.

"Good morning." He kissed me again and then straightened up. He returned to the stove and worked for a few minutes in silence.

I took another sip of my coffee and asked, "When we're married, how are we going to work out our sleep schedule?"

"I don't know. We'll have to figure that out. I guess I can get some of my sleep in while you're working. I want to be awake when you're around. Otherwise, what's the point in being married?"

"Well, once the new wears off, I'm sure we'll both need our time." I sipped a little more on my coffee. "I don't want to go to bed alone."

"I can fix my sleep schedule if I have to. I just get uncomfortable if I go into the sun."

"Like you said, we'll figure it out."

He put a plate in front of me and then refilled my coffee cup. "You really are pretty today."

"Before all the grease, right?"

"Yeah." He sat down with his own plate. "And then you're going to be so smoking hot that I'm going to want to rip all your clothes off. But of course you won't let me."

"I'll let you rip about half of them off." I teased.

He laughed and went about eating his breakfast.

"You can come by and see me sometime today if you want. Maybe take me to lunch or something." I smiled.

"I might." He looked at my plate. "I slaved over that."

"I know." I said, looking at the bacon, biscuit, and eggs still on my plate. I took another bite of eggs out of courtesy and then sat back with my coffee and sipped it thoughtfully. "Other than sleeping, do you have other plans for today?"

"I might go in search of some art supplies."

"There's a store in Salt Lake City."

"Yeah? I might go drive around and see what's there."

"A little more than here, I assure you." I finished the last of my coffee and stood. "I need to head out." I kissed his cheek and then headed toward the spot in the living room where I kept my shoes and sat down to put them on.

"Take an apple with you, please." He handed one over.

I took it as I straightened up. "Thank you." I took a bite for his benefit. I stood and rested my head on his shoulder for a moment. "I'll see you tonight."

"Okay. Want me to make something?"

"I'll bring something back." I kissed him. "Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

I was just finishing a standard oil change when my mother came through the shop and called my name.

"Yeah?" I looked up.

"Adrian is in the lobby."

I felt the smile stretching across my lips. "I'll be out in a minute." I finished up and hurried into the lobby, wiping my hands on an old, stained cloth.

Adrian stood looking at a rack of tires. I walked up behind him and blew on the back of his neck.

He jumped and then turned with a seductive grin on his face. "Hey, pretty lady." He bent down and kissed me.

I accepted the kiss and remained close. "You know I was only joking about coming to see me."

"I know. But I wanted to bring you lunch." He held up a paper bag.

"You didn't have to do that." I took the bag from him and looked inside.

"Turkey, tomato, and lettuce on whole wheat bread. Just a smear of mustard. And a banana. Lunch of champions. And I figured it would be better for you than you not eating because you left the house without food and you have said several times that you have skipped lunch. And you really didn't eat breakfast."

"You need to stop worrying about that."

"I can't. And I won't. We're going to be married, Sydney."

I let out a deep breath. "Did you happen to bring anything for yourself?"

He held up his own bag from a fast food place. "Burger and fries dripping with grease."

I shook my head. "Come on." I led him toward the back of the lobby through a door behind the counter. "I'm taking my break, Mom." I called before stepping through.

"Okay, sweetie." She called back.

Adrian started telling me about his plans for the afternoon. "I looked up directions for that art store in Salt Lake City. I'm going to head up there after this."

"Should be fun. Did you get enough sleep?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He smiled as he brought a fry to his mouth. "I'll get more sleep when you get home."

My mother cleared her throat at the door.

We turned slowly, I know I felt guilty but I doubted Adrian did.

"I just got a call from your father. He and Zoe are going away for a few days. And I was just kind of wondering if I could cook for you two tonight."

"I have an idea." Adrian said. "What if I cook? You are both working your asses off. You shouldn't have to do anything. Mrs. Sage, you just come over this evening and relax. Let me handle it. Is that okay with you, honey?" The last was directed at me.

I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks. I liked the new endearment. "I like that idea. Come on over, Mom. About six-thirty?"

"Yeah, six-thirty." Adrian said. "I'll get everything I need while I'm running around. And we'll crack open that wine I brought."

"Okay." My mom said. "I need to get back to work. Have a good lunch."

After she left, Adrian decided he would take a look around the grocery store before he made a menu decision. I told him Mom wasn't picky and he knew my dietary wishes. We talked a little after we finished eating. I didn't want him to leave, but I had a lot lined up and Mom needed her own lunch break.

I kissed him again and again, not wanting him to go. It hit me then that he would soon be heading back to Court. "I miss you already."

He smiled and rested his forehead against mine. "I'm only going twenty minutes away. I'll see you tonight."

"And tomorrow. But not the next."

"No, I have to drive back." He brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face.

"How soon until you move here?"

"I have to sort out some things, honey. But it won't be long." He kissed me again. "Get back to work."

I walked him out the front door and then went in to the garage to rotate some tires.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note: I really loved writing the last part of this chapter. There will soon be more. I'll jump ahead a bit in time to ensure it, I promise. Thank you for all the love in reviewing and favoriting and following. It is all very much appreciated._

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Four

I walked into my house that evening to find Adrian standing over the stove. I put my things away and then walked up behind him. I kissed the back of his neck, but touched him nowhere else.

"You don't know what you do to me, Sydney." He said softly, not turning or making any move to return my affection directly.

"I have a bit of an idea." I kissed him again and then stepped back. "I'm going to shower."

He looked over his shoulder at me and I saw the side of his mouth tilted up in that familiar way. "May I join you?"

"Not today." I hurried out of the room and locked myself in the bathroom.

When I stepped out, I heard my fiancé on the phone. By his tone, I knew it was Jill. He spoke with her differently than anyone else, especially me.

"I'm going to be heading back day after tomorrow…I know, you'll be okay. Go to Lissa if it gets too bad. She knows how to deal with it…Well, you can fly out here if you think that will help anything, but I swear, Jill, if you can last just a couple more days…Then go to Lissa. She's your sister as well as a powerful Spirit user…You guys can work it out…I've been trying really hard here. I got some art supplies today and you know how well that helps me these days. I'm sorry I didn't think of it until now. From now on it should be a little better…I love you too, kid. Go see your sister. Make her listen."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "Is she okay?"

"Getting a little erratic. She needs me to heal her. I did just before I came, but I guess it's not enough." He wrapped his arms around me. "I don't know how we're going to make this work."

"It was fine last time you came." I pointed out.

"I think a lot of it has to do with Eddie. She said he and Angeline been all over each other lately."

"Has she talked to him?"

"No. And I don't think she ever would because she's not a boyfriend stealer." He pushed wet hair out of my face. "I think Lissa can help her just as well as I can. I mean, we're the ones with the bond, but Lissa uses Spirit just as well as me now."

I felt myself shiver.

"Sorry." He kissed the tip of my nose.

"It's fine." I patted his chest. "If you need to go home, I understand."

"Sydney—"

I put my hands on the sides of his face. "Adrian, she is bound to you. You have to help her if you can."

"Let me call Lissa and see if she can help. If not, I'll leave after your mom goes."

"Okay." I pushed myself up and brushed my lips across his.

He stepped away with his phone pressed to his ear. "Hello, your majesty." He said as he sat down on the couch.

I walked over to the stove and stirred the sauce that was simmering there. A pan of water boiled on an adjacent burner. I didn't see any noodles. "Adrian, what goes in this boiling water?"

He walked over, still talking, and pulled a bag of tortellini out of the freezer. "I know it's not necessarily your place, but I'm not there right now and she needs help." He handed me the bag and started pacing in the small space of the living room and kitchen. "It's not going to take more than a few minutes. I thought you were over all this. She needs your help…Please, Lissa, I'll owe you big time…She's kind of my fiancé now, so I can't just up and leave…She needs help _now_ and it will take hours for me to get there. I know you're busy, but please…Thank you. I'll make it up to you." He hung up and leaned against the counter. "It's like pulling teeth." He sighed and put his phone away.

"Her day is just starting. She probably has a lot lined up."

"She can take five minutes for her sister." He reached out and touched my arm. "Come here."

I folded myself against his chest and breathed him in. "You can leave if you need to. She's your biggest responsibility. Even more than me because of the bond. So go. I don't care. We're engaged and I feel like that's mainly what you came for this time."

"I came to get my fix of you. You're my addiction now, do you know that? You're the one that helps with the madness, not just the art. I only smoke when I'm in the car for a long time. I drink very little. It's you, Syd. You help so much. I just need more of you."

"Then why did you invite my mother to eat with us tonight?" I teased and kissed him under his jaw. "We could just stay in and make out." I kissed his neck.

"Or we could make _love_." He dropped his mouth to my neck and kissed it with an open mouth.

I felt his fangs and pushed him away with a gasp.

"Sorry." He pulled me back and rested his forehead against mine. "I lose control sometimes with you."

"I do too." I sighed and slid my hands up his back. "No fangs. Ever."

"They're part of me."

"I know. Just be a little more careful with them, especially around my neck."

There was a knock at the door then and my mom stuck her head inside. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mom, come on in." I said, stepping away from my fiancé. "I need to go deal with my hair."

He kissed my hand and mouthed, "Sorry."

I pressed a quick kiss to his lips and then left the room.

I heard my mom laughing in the kitchen. It felt good to know that they were getting along. I finished drying my hair quickly and brushed it down around my face. I stepped out of the bathroom and saw that Adrian was tipping some wine into a glass for my mother.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked nervously.

"A little doesn't hurt, Sydney." She assured me.

"I know that, but I'm worried about him."

"One glass, honey, I promise." He poured his own glass. "You want some?"

"No, thank you." I took a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. "So when do we eat? I'm a hard-working woman and I'm starved?"

He gave me an odd look.

"Don't start." I warned and went about setting the table.

Adrian kept Mom and me both laughing for most of the meal. He also engaged Mom in a great conversation about art and his plans for his craft.

"I've already had a few buyers interested. Mostly private sales. A lot of influential people in the upper circles at Court have at least one of my pieces. The ones that aren't of your beautiful daughter, anyway."

"Those exist?" I teased.

He chuckled, "Just a few." He kissed my hand.

Mom sat back with a grin. "You are so perfect for her. Just what she needs." She placed a hand on my fiancé's arm. "Thank you for pulling her out of all that. My gratitude for you is boundless, Adrian. You take good care of her, or so help me God, I will make you regret it."

He smiled at her and then stood, gathering her into his arms. "You have no idea what it means to me to have your approval." He kissed her cheek and then stepped back. I could see the tears glistening in his eyes. "I have desert, if anyone wants it." He walked over to the counter and picked up a pie plate. "Anyone want coffee?" He asked as he sat the desert down on the table.

"I do, but I'll make it." I stood and wrapped an arm around him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking away.

Adrian said, "I want to thank you for being so welcoming. I was nervous."

"Well, I liked you over the phone the few times we talked. And I like what I see when you two are together. Reminds me a little of Jared and me in the beginning."

"That doesn't sound very promising." I mumbled.

"I love your father very much, Sydney. He's not a good man all the time, but he does love us all. He only cares about keeping us safe. I'm sorry that he's not as kind as you would expect from your father, but he's only doing what he feels is right."

"I know." I took down three cups and filled them. I poured cream into two of them and handed them to my guests. I took the plain cup and sat down. "No pie for me."

"You look fine, honey." Adrian said softly as he cut through the pie.

"I'm full, _dear_." I sipped my coffee and sat back. I was glad the next day was a day off. I was determined to fill myself with caffeine and stay up with Adrian all night.

We changed the subject and I accepted a very small slice of pie from Adrian as he slid it across the table. I took one bite and then sat back and finished my coffee. I refilled my cup and sat back down. I stayed out of the conversation, watching as my fiancé continued to schmooze with my mom.

I was on my third cup of coffee when Mom left. It was a relief. I loved her, but I saw her every day. I was satisfied with her love of Adrian and wanted them to get to know each other, so it wasn't so hard for her to be there for the most part.

"Hey." Adrian said, wrapping his arms around me. He kissed me softly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just hate when we fight about my father. I usually try not to mention him around her."

He took my face in his hands and kissed my forehead. "I noticed you drank most of the pot of coffee." He kissed my nose. "Should I take that as a good sign?" He brushed a soft kiss across my lips.

"Yes. I don't have to work tomorrow. So I can stay up all night with you and sleep the day away and see you off right." I tugged at the hem of his shirt and slid my hands under it. I pressed my palms into his flat stomach. "Take me to bed. We can wash the dishes later."

He smiled and kissed me once more. He picked me up and carried me to my bed. He laid me down, kissing me softly. Our tongues slid together. He sighed into my mouth as his fingers brushed over my breasts.

I pushed him away slightly and combed my fingers through his hair. "Open your mouth." I requested.

"Why?"

"Just do it. Please?" I rested a hand on his jaw and stroke his cheek beside his mouth.

He parted his lips and teeth and waited for what I'd do. I pulled his upper lip back and examined his fangs. I touched one with the tip of my finger, testing the way it felt on the front and then the point. I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"Do you need to drink?" I asked softly, a tremble in my voice.

"Not from you, Sydney." He brushed my hair away from my face. "Never from you." He kissed me, darting his tongue out to lick my lips.

I let my tongue mingle with his once more, a soft moan escaping my throat as I unbuttoned his shirt. I leaned down and kissed his collarbone. With every button I freed, I kissed more of his exposed flesh. I sat back and pulled the shirt over his head with a few more to go. I slowly ran my hands over his bare chest and stomach.

"You make me feel so…" He trailed off.

"What?"

"Wanted." He pulled my shirt over my head and lowered me to the bed once more. "I love you so much. I never loved anyone this much. I know I've said it before, but it's true. You healed me, Sydney. Of everything. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you to make up for it. Do you know that?"

I brushed my fingers down his cheek. He turned his head and caught my palm with his lips. "Kiss me slowly."

"Every inch I'm allowed." He lowered his mouth to mine once more. He kissed my lips again and again. He moved up and kissed my forehead. He kissed my eyes, my nose, my cheeks before returning once more to my mouth.

When he moved to my neck, I felt a long breath escape me as though I'd been holding it this entire time. I moved my hands over his back, taking in all the muscles as they moved beneath his skin. He hummed against my chest, flicking his tongue out and tasting me before brushing his lips over each spot. I felt his fangs pressed against his lips.

I threaded my fingers through his hair and held him close. "I want you so much."

"I want you too." He reached underneath me and unhooked my bra. He closed his mouth around my nipple. I felt the point of his fangs pressing into my flesh.

I heard myself whimper, but I pulled him closer. My body was humming all over. I rocked my hips up, wrapping my legs around his waist.

He moaned and brought his mouth to mine once more. "What do you want?" He panted against my lips. "I'll do anything."

"Let me kiss you."

He nodded and kissed me once more before rolling onto his back and pulling me on top of him.

I kissed his mouth hungrily, licking his fangs. He moaned and bucked underneath me. I surprised myself when I ground my hips down into him. I'd never felt his erections so fully. I tangled my fingers in his hair and kissed him harder, sucking on his tongue.

He grunted and broke the kiss. "You don't really want this, do you?" He asked.

"I want what you want, Adrian." I kissed him softly.

"I want to make love with you when the time is right. I don't think that's now. I don't want to just take that from you when you'll regret it later."

"How do you know I'll regret it?"

"Because you need to be more prepared. I know you do." He slid his hands over my body. "I don't have condoms and I know you're not on the pill. So we need to stop before it goes farther because I'm almost to a point where I can't."

I sighed and rolled onto my back. "I don't know what came over me."

His hand found mine and he brought it to his lips. "There are other things we can do if you want."

"This is why we can't live together before we're married." I rolled out of bed and pulled my shirt back on. "I need some air."

I sat on the front porch and put my face in my hands. There was a cool breeze and it ruffled my hair and cleared my head.

I felt Adrian's hand as it smoothed over my head. "Sydney?"

I looked up at him. "I don't know who I am anymore."

He sat down beside me. "Why? Because you lost yourself for a minute? It was hot. _You're_ hot. And you have nothing to be ashamed of."

I leaned against him. "I don't want you to leave."

"I won't."

"I don't need a big wedding."

"What are you saying?"

"That we don't have to have a really long engagement. I mean, I want to hold off for a while longer. A year. And the next time you come visit, I think you should stay somewhere else."

"I'll find a place to rent before my next visit." He kissed my temple. "Come inside and watch a movie with me."

"I'd like another kiss."

He pressed his lips to mine for a moment. "How is that?"

I pulled him in for one more kiss. "Good. Let's see about that movie."


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note: Happy New Year! I hope this update finds you well. Thank you for all the love. If you don't follow me on Tumblr (booksrockmyface), I posted a scene on there that I wrote for this story to be inserted later. You can find it by posting _**post/39282757895/so-i-posted-that-snippet-and-it-seems-a-couple-of-you**_ onto the end of my Tumblr address._

_Thank you for taking the time to read, review, add to favorites, and follow. All your feedback is much appreciated._

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Five

Watching Adrian leave this time was more difficult than any parting we've ever had. He kissed me and touched my hair again and again.

"I'll come back soon. Before you know it." He promised, holding me close. "I love you, Sydney."

"I love you, too, Adrian."

He slid into the front seat reluctantly and just sat there. He rolled down the window and stuck his head out. "No way I can convince you to come with me, is there?"

"I have obligations here. And you have obligations there. Maybe next time, bring Jill with you. You'll have someone to spend time with while I'm working." I leaned down and kissed him once more. "Drive safely." I stepped away and waved as he finally backed down the drive and down the road.

My phone rang when I finally walked inside. I read "Jill" on the screen and hesitated answering. When I finally did, it was to discover she was crying on the other end.

"Jill, are you all right?" I asked. I stared at the bottle of wine still sitting in my refrigerator.

"It just sucks, Sydney." She wailed.

"What does?" I took the bottle out and took a sip. I had a hard time swallowing it.

"You know." She sobbed. "You and Adrian are perfect for each other. You should be married by now."

"It's complicated."

"No it's not. Just get married already. He can move there."

"And what about you, Jill?" I took another sip. This one was slightly easier to swallow.

"I can come visit once a month. He'll be better once he's with you." She sounded clearer.

"I know." I put the bottle down and leaned against the counter. "He and I will figure it out. Don't worry."

"I'm trying not to." She sniffed. "But I can't help it. I'm connected to him. I feel what he feels."

"Put up the block."

"I can still feel emotion sometimes, even with the block. It's too strong."

"Does that mean that you can sense…?"

"I distract myself with other things. That usually helps. And it's getting easier to block those out too."

"That's good to know. Glad we're waiting." I picked up the bottle once more and took a long swallow.

"You're waiting? Oh my god, how is that possible?"

"Control." I said simply.

"And being the craziest girl on the planet. Adrian is hot, even if he's like a brother to me, I can see that. How can you not want to get on that?"

"'Get on that'? Jill please tell me you've not 'gotten on that' with anyone?"

"I'm almost seventeen."

"I know. But you should—"

"Wait until it's someone I really love. I am. But it's not like I can have the guy I love."

"Have you ever talked to him about this?" I poured the last of the wine down the drain before I drank the rest of the bottle.

"How?"

I sighed and stretched out on my couch. "You have to take him aside. Say that you don't want it to mess with your friendship and you don't expect it to end his current relationship and you just tell him."

"That's easy for you to say."

"I know it is easy to say outside of it, but it's better to say something and have all your cards on the table than to die inside as you watch him with someone else. He doesn't know. So let him know."

I heard her sigh. We went back and forth about it for a while longer. She was just about sure she was going to tell him in the end. I was relieved that I could convince her of at least that.

She ended our conversation with, "And Adrian needs to move to Utah."

I chuckled and hung up, putting the phone on my chest. I dozed and woke to the sound of my it ringing several hours later. I put it to my ear without a glance at the screen. "Hello?"

"So, I'm almost to Nebraska, but it's not like I can really tell because I feel like I've been driving past the same field since I left your house."

I chuckled at Adrian's rambling. "I know. How are you feeling?"

"Missing you. But fine otherwise. I just fill the gas tank and am now stretching my legs."

I said nothing for a few moments. Then, "You're going to stop in Iowa, right?"

"Yes, dear." I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"I just don't think it's smart for you to drive thirty hours straight."

"I've done it before."

"I'm just saying that you don't have to bring your car with you every time. I can pick you up from the airport."

"I could have left the car behind."

"And how would you get around?"

"Next time we're trading cars."

"Next time you're flying. We're not arguing about this."

"If I bring Jill along, we can take turns driving. Especially since we'll have two Guardians in tow."

"Don't take risks, Adrian."

"I take risks every day, sweetheart."

"I don't like sweetheart."

"Hm?"

"Whatever term of endearment you're trying to come up with, sweetheart isn't it."

"You seem to like it when I call you honey."

"I do."

"Okay, honey. I'll do anything for you."

"I know you will."

"I need to get back on the road. I just wanted to check in."

"Okay. Be careful."

"I'll do my best."

"Call again when you get to your hotel."

"I will."

I went to bed, unable to fall asleep for hours with worry over Adrian.

* * *

There was knock on my door before I was even able to put my bag down. "Come in, Jill." I called.

She threw open the door and came straight toward me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her head on my chest. I placed a hand on her head and the other on her back. I rested my cheek against her hair as I summoned my healing magic, taking away the darkness that filled her.

She took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. She stepped back. "Thank you."

I smoothed the hair away from her face. "Any time."

"Lissa took a little of it. She was going to do the full healing, but I knew it would be better if you did it. And she's got a lot more on her plate anyway."

I nodded and kissed her forehead.

"She wants to see you, by the way."

"I'll go tomorrow." I collapsed on the couch. "Go on home. We'll talk after I've had a proper sleep in my own bed."

"I told Eddie." She said, sitting down on the floor by my head.

"Told him what?"

She let out a frustrated groan and pushed my shoulder. "Why couldn't I be bonded to a girl?"

"Because I'm better." I grinned at her and sat up. "Come here, my child." I said, patting the couch beside me. "What did he say?"

"'That's nice. I need to go see Rose.'" She collapsed sideways on the couch. "What am I going to do?"

"Has he been around since?"

She shook her head.

"Text? Call?"

She shook her head again. She covered her face with her hands and she rolled to her side. "My life is over."

"Hey, there." I leaned over her. "Look at me, Jill."

She shook her head. "I don't deserve him anyway."

I pried her hands away. "I know he's the love of your life right now and he's with someone else, but it's not the end of the world. I know it feels like it. _You_ know it feels like it. Don't do anything reckless and show him you can be happy without him. If it's not him, then it will definitely be someone else. I promise."

"Can I stay here?" She asked meekly.

"Is your mom okay with that?"

"My mom loves you. Of course she's okay with it."

I patted her shoulder and then sat up. "Then I need to go make sure the guest bed is ready."

"How is Sydney?" She asked, following me to the back of my apartment.

"She's fine." I said shortly. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent off a text to my fiancée. "_Consoling Jill. Call in a bit_."

"Just fine?"

She was looking over my shoulder.

"Do you mind?"

She walked into the room and sat down on the bed. "I caught a glimpse of something that happened between the two of you a few days ago…" She waggled her eyebrows at me.

"You have the ability to block everything out for a reason, Jailbait."

"That's a nickname I haven't heard in a while." She stretched back on the bed and put her hands behind her head. "So what's that like?"

"I'll tell you when you're older." I flipped off the light. "Sleep well, kid." I walked down the hall and then walked back to the room. "Hey." I leaned against the door. "Eddie is probably still trying to process everything. I bet you'll get a call from him soon."

"And if I don't?" She asked meekly.

"Then he's not worth the time it takes to fret over it." I pushed myself away from the door. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Adrian?" She called after me.

"Yeah?"

"I know what it was like in your head after everything with Rose. I don't want to have to deal with that again."

"And I don't want you to either. You want me to say something to him?"

She chewed on her lip for a while and then shrugged. "I don't know if that will help anything."

My phone went off. I looked down to see a message from Sydney.

"Go talk to her. One of us should be happy around here."

"Feed off of my happiness, okay?" I said with a wave over my shoulder. I punched in Sydney's number. "Hello, beautiful."

"Not right now. I just got up."

"You are quite sexy when you're rumpled. Like we've been rolling around in bed all night doing everything _but_ sleep."

"Adrian!" she admonished. I could almost hear the blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Hey, honey, you know you want it." I crooned.

"So what's going on with Jill?"

"Of course you change the subject." I sighed and changed for bed as I explained about my shadow-kissed guest in the other room.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to call Eddie when he wakes up."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Honey, please don't explain to me the things that are wrong with this. I can't help it. I need to know what he's thinking."

"She said he went to Rose?"

"Well he said he was going there after she told him, but that doesn't mean he talked to her about this."

"I bet he did. She's his friend as much as you are Jill's."

"Jill and I are a bit closer."

"Just a little." She teased. "I need to get ready. And you need some sleep."

"I'd sleep better with you beside me."

"Stop being so cheesy."

"I can't help it."

"I know."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Have a good day at work. Call me when you get off."

"I will."

I lay in bed for a long time just staring at the ceiling. I missed Sydney and I worried over what was going to happen with Jill. I was determined to speak with Eddie and started working out what I would say to him. Somewhere in the in the middle of trying to figure out what to say to him, I fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's note: I decided that I want to move this along a little more and have skipped ahead a bit. I have more of Adrian's POV here. I decided to do that partly because Richelle Mead revealed recently that The Fiery Heart will contain it and I wanted to try it out myself. Also, one POV in first person is so limiting. And I've never done first person until I tackled Bloodlines, so I hope it's convincing._

_Thank you for the reviews. And happy reading!  
_

Chapter Six

"We've been at this for hours, Adrian." Lissa complained, standing and stretching. "Do you think we can end it for today?" She rubbed her stomach absently.

"I guess." I said around a yawn.

There was a knock at the door. "Yes?" She called.

Rose stepped through the door. "I have a message for you Adrian. There's a woman at the front gate asking for you." By the smile on her face, I could tell she was trying to be mysterious. "Arrived by taxi."

I felt a smile spread across my face. "Call them and tell them I'm on my way." I bid a quick farewell to my friend and leaned over the crib in the corner, smiling at her daughter. "See you later, Andrea. You take care of your mother."

She gurgled up at me.

"She looks so much like Christian today." I commented as I straightened. "And now I go to see my lady."

"Is she going to stay here?" Lissa called after me as I reached for the door.

"I highly doubt it." I walked quickly out of the building. It was a long walk to the front gate, but an even longer walk to my car. I took out my cell about halfway there. "What's cookin', good lookin'?"

She laughed. "Just making eyes at the very handsome Dhampir guarding the gate."

"Not on my watch." I teased. "No one is as handsome as me."

"You're right, some are more."

"Not if he's a Dhampir." I could now see her standing just outside the gate with the phone pressed to her ear.

"This one may rival you to some girls' standards. But not mine." She spotted me and waved. "Surprise."

I hung up the phone and walked up to the gate as it opened. "Thank you, Dimitri. I didn't realize you had guard duty."

"We rotate. Are you in or out?" he reached for the button to close the gate.

"Out. For now. Thank you." As he closed the gate, I pulled Sydney into my arms and kissed her hard. "God, I missed you." I sighed, resting my head against hers.

"I missed you, too."

"Do you have a hotel or…?"

"I do. How could you ever guess?"

"Well, there's no way you're going to want to spend any more time than necessary surrounded by all of us."

"That's true." She yawned. "And I'm a little tired."

"Well, let me pay the cabby and I'll drive you to your hotel. Or you can drive."

She perked up. "I'd like that."

I took my wallet out of my pocket and passed over enough for a generous tip and sent him on his way. "So you flew and you didn't bother renting a car?"

"Why would I when my fantastic fiancé has a really fantastic Mustang that he lets me drive all the time?"

The gate opened and we made our way slowly through the gated complex. "You've never been here for casual reasons, have you?"

"No, actually." She slipped her hand into mine. "And I still feel a little apprehensive."

"I know, honey." I draped my arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. "We'll just get my car and go. I'm guessing that since you don't have your bags that you already stopped in at your hotel."

"Yes. I got here this afternoon and took a nap."

I led her into the garage where I parked my car and came up short. Jill leaned against my Mustang. She ran up to Sydney as soon as she saw her.

"I'm so happy to see you, Sydney. You have no idea." She exclaimed.

"Hey, there. How are you holding up?" My fiancée asked her softly, pulling her away a few feet.

She sighed. "He hasn't talked to me in weeks unless it was necessary. And Angeline has started to ignore me too. I just know he told her. But at least they aren't around each other as much. And my friend Becky said she heard they were seen fighting a few weeks ago. Right after I told him."

"Maybe that's a good thing."

"I don't want to be his rebound."

"You don't have to be. Just be available to be his friend like you already are. And if things get better between them, let him know that you support him. And if they break up, just give him space."

"And then what?"

"Hope like hell he's smart enough to know a good thing when he sees it." I commented. "Why haven't you told me any of this?"

"Because you've made it very clear that this all makes you uncomfortable. Not to mention that I asked you not to say anything to Eddie and I know you did anyway." She turned back to Sydney. "How long are you staying? Can we do a girls' night?"

"I'm here for the weekend, but I don't think Adrian will mind letting me have some time with you. We'll go to dinner and just hang out. What do you say?"

"It sounds great. Maybe I can find a way to shake the guardians."

"It won't be so bad if you have a guardian."

"I have Eddie. There's no way I can talk about him when he's right there."

"You're bonded to Adrian. Surely he has some pull with the queen and can find a way to get someone else assigned to you."

"Adrian?" She asked me.

"I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, don't you have homework or something?"

"Okay, I'll leave you two alone." She hugged Sydney once more and then scurried off.

I handed my keys over and got into the passenger side. "Let's get going. I'm feeling lucky."

"The only way you're getting lucky is to cuddle with me for a few hours before I kick you out."

"Fine, have it your way."

"I will." She turned the key and let out a long sigh as the engine came to life. "I love your car."

"Nice to see where I stand."

She laughed and followed my directions out of the complex.

* * *

"So Mom walked in a couple days ago and handed me her credit card and said 'Just go already.' And so here I am."

"That's great. I really like your mom."

"She liked you too."

"Have you eaten anything lately?" He asked as I motioned him into my hotel room.

"No, but I'm not too hungry right now. Have you?"

"Not for a few hours. I've been working with Lissa for a while. Stretching our Spirit abilities."

"Want me to order in?" I picked up a directory beside the phone.

"No, what I want," He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me onto the bed with him, "is to hold you and kiss you for a while."

I smiled and kissed him, reclining on the bed and pulling him down with me.  
He ran his hand slowly over my side to rest on my hip and then he slid his hand up my shirt and rested on my stomach. "God bless your mother." He sighed between kisses.

"I don't want to think about my mother when I'm kissing you." I tangled my fingers in his hair and held his face next to mine, taking control of the kiss, slipping my tongue into his mouth and savored the way he tasted. I had missed it.

His hand slid higher and I slapped it away.

"We're not doing that tonight."

"Okay." He pressed his mouth to mine once more and wrapped his arm around my back, cradling me to him as he took over the kiss once more.

My hand slid down around his shoulders and broke the kiss. "Can you stay here?"

"I can do whatever you want, honey."

"Good." I kissed him again and then rested my head against his.

"We should talk about wedding stuff. You know as more than just 'it's happening in a year or so.' Let's talk about dates and locations and figure it all out from there."

"Do you want a Court wedding?" I asked, combing my fingers through his hair.

"You said you didn't want anything big."

"We could do something small here. Maybe in a local church since my family shouldn't be subjected to the oddities of Court. But you have more people that would show up, so it can be here."

"We could do it somewhere half-way."

I shook my head. "It would be easier for Lissa to make it. And Jill. I want her to be in my bridal party. Unless you want to do one of those things where you have a best maid like so many people are doing these days. She's your best friend."

"She is. We can talk to her. I definitely want her to be part of it."

I nodded and brushed my lips across his. "I want a fall wedding."

"Fall sounds good. Middle of October? Late afternoon so it's not too late for your family and friends?"

"Evening so it's not too early for _your_ family and friends. Maybe eight?"

"Okay. I agree to your terms. That was pretty easy."

I smiled and kissed him again.

"We can look over locations. I don't want to just agree to here right now." He sat up. "Did you bring your computer?"

"Yeah. Why?" I walked over to my bags in the corner.

"I want you to look at some houses with me."

"Houses? To buy?"

"Not yet. I'm renting first, remember? I want your opinion." He booted up the machine and moved against the headboard.

I sat beside him and rested my head on his shoulder as he connected to the internet and started typing in the address bar.

"I've been in contact with the landlords of a few of these already. Some of them need a little work and I don't know how much I want to do in just a year of renting a place."

"This is kind of my first choice."

"I like that one." I said as he opened up a link to look into a small three bedroom house.

"Me too. It has the least work and I can make one of the bedrooms into a studio. See here," he pulled up a picture of one of the rooms, "I love the possibility of light here. It's all windows."

"And how close is it to my place?"

"Just a few miles." He turned his head and kissed my forehead. "What do you think?"

"It's cute. Show me your other choices, though. I want to make a more informed decision other than proximity to me."

"Let's order a pizza first." He took his phone out of his pocket and punched in a number. He ordered a vegetable pizza with very little sauce and cheese on thin crust.

I smiled at him. He knew it was my favorite.

He showed me a few more houses that he'd been looking at until the pizza came. He handed me a slice and then took his own. "So what are your thoughts?"

"I like the first one the most, I think."

He smiled. "Me too. I'll call in the morning and start the work on renting it. I may need your help there to get a few things settled. Do you mind?"

"No, I don't mind at all. Anything to get you there sooner."

"Yeah."

We ate in silence, Adrian consuming most of the pizza while I nibbled my first slice.

"You're leaving the crust? That's the best part." He picked up the discarded crust and ate it. "I think Jill will want to be a bride's maid more than the best maid or whatever she'd be called."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am. And I think she would like to help with the wedding plans. It will help with all this Eddie business. I'll talk to her mom and see if she wouldn't mind Jill coming to stay with me over the summer."

"Does she trust you enough for that?"

"I think so. And she'll have guardians."

"Like Eddie, who she is pretty sure hates her now."

"He doesn't hate her. I haven't told her, but he said that he doesn't know how to feel about her. He's with Angeline and he really likes her. Jill is more like a sister to him. He'll guard her with his last breath. He doesn't want to do anything to damage that professional relationship."

I sighed and leaned against him. "Do you think he's just scared?"

"Maybe. Caring about someone is scary."

"Terrifying." I agreed. I yawned. "I know it's still early for you, but would you mind if I went to sleep?"

"I'm pretty tired myself." He kissed me softly and then rolled out of the bed and started undressing.

"Make yourself comfortable." I teased as I moved toward the small bathroom.

When I stepped out, I saw the appreciation on his face at seeing me dressed in a shirt that he had left at my house. "Part of me is thinking this was left behind on purpose." I said as I turned out the light and got into bed with him.

"You think so?"

"Maybe just subconsciously, but you did it deliberately so that you'd have a reason to come back or to see your hot fiancée wearing it to bed like she is right now." I moved close to him, wrapping an arm around him and pressing my cold feet between his ankles.

He shivered. "I hate when you do that."

"You hate that they're cold." I said, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"True." He rested his forehead against mine. "I really like falling asleep with you."

"Me too." I brushed my lips over his. "Are you going to slip out and go back to Court in a couple hours?"

"No. I'll stay with you. I'll probably only nap right now and then use your bed for more sleep during the day. But I don't want to leave you when I don't have to."

"I like the sound of that."

"And when I move to Utah, I'll switch up my sleep pattern so my days match yours a little more."

"Sounds good." I said around a yawn. "Goodnight."

"'Night." He kissed the tip of my nose and combed his fingers through my hair until I fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's note: I hope this chapter finds you all well. I had originally thought to wait a couple days to update this, but inspiration struck and here it is._

_Thank you for the reviews. Feel free to speak your mind.  
_

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Seven

I felt fangs pierce my neck and I jerked awake. I put my hand to the wound and discovered there wasn't one. I looked around the room, trying to remember where I was. And then it all came back as I spotted Adrian.

My Moroi fiancé still slept on the other side of his massive bed. I drew my knees up and looked around the room nervously. It had taken a lot of convincing for me to stay here my last night in town. I didn't even want to sleep in the first place. The only way I was able to finally doze off was because Adrian had promised to stay awake, which he would have done anyway.

I looked toward the window and saw the sun peeking through the side. I stretched as I looked over at the clock. It read 11:38. I sighed and leaned over Adrian, kissing him.

"Mm." He shifted in his sleep, but didn't wake.

I got up and muddled around his apartment for a while. I dressed and made myself something to eat and sat down with the coffee from the brand new coffee pot my fiancée had bought me the night before to convince me to stay.

I channel surfed for a while, finally stopping on some Spanish soap opera I couldn't understand. I sat sipping my second cup of coffee when Adrian leaned over the back of the couch and kissed the top of my head.

I looked up and smiled. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon." He mumbled and took my cup from my hand. He made a face after taking a sip. "Ugh."

"Sorry. You _did_ buy cream and sugar for yourself." I took my cup back.

"What are you watching?"

"Spanish soap opera. There was nothing else interesting."

"Hm." He walked away, scratching his head and yawning. "How long have you been awake?"

"Since a little before noon."

"It's almost three." He came to sit beside me a short time later with his own cup. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I didn't know what time you fell asleep." I put my hand on his knee and moved a little closer. "I had a nightmare."

"About what?" He moved some hair off my cheek and kissed it.

"One of your buddies having me for lunch."

He pulled my head onto his shoulder and kissed my hair. "Well, they're all asleep right now."

"_You're_ awake." I teased. "Are you going to bite me?"

"If I remember correctly, you aren't too delicious. Well, not your blood. Your skin is quite tasty from my personal experience. And there's another bit of you that I wouldn't mind testing one of these days."

I felt myself blushing. "You need to stop."

"Stop what?" He rubbed his hand slowly on my thigh.

"Adrian!" I moved away.

"I'm sorry." But the grin on his face told me he was far from it.

I reached up and started playing with his hair. "Are you going to drive me to the airport tonight or am I taking a cab?"

"You're driving yourself, honey." He kissed my cheek.

"Fantastic." I watched him for a while, still moving my fingers through his hair. "You're so beautiful."

He smiled. "You're not so bad yourself."

I kissed him. "Thank you."

"Thank _you_." He leaned forward and kissed me hard on the mouth, pushing me back against the cushions.

"Mm, stop." I said against his lips. "Let's just be together for these last few hours."

He sighed and moved away, pushing his hair back from his face. He threaded his fingers through mine along the back of the couch.

"This apartment is a little too stylish." I joked, looking around. "I was too busy kissing you last night to process it."

"I'm sure I can rustle up some yellow paint and a plaid couch for my house in Utah."

"I'll keep my eye out for that couch." I promised.

"So what would you like to do? There are plenty of restaurants open twenty-four hours for the Dhampirs who work during the day. Let me show you around before everyone wakes up."

"Adrian…"

"Okay, then we'll go outside the wall."

"No, I'll face my fear. Take me to the place you go when you can't sleep."

"Okay. Let me shower." He finished off his coffee and stood. "Care to join me?"

"No thank you."

"You sure?" He pulled off his shirt and stood with his hands on his hips. "I know you can't resist my naturally cut body."

I laughed. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Here." He threw the shirt at me. "Take that one home, too."

"You just like seeing me wear your shirts."

"I do. There's nothing hotter than seeing a gorgeous woman wearing my shirt with very little underneath it."

I blushed.

"And you look good otherwise, just for the record." He turned without another word.

* * *

Jill walked into the diner right after we ordered. She slid into the booth beside me.

"Hope you don't mind me joining." She said, accepting the menu from the waitress. She ordered coffee and lots of cream as she went over the menu.

"It's fine. I'm glad I got to see you." I said. "I'm leaving tonight to go back to Utah."

"I'm still trying to convince Mom to let me come there this summer. At least for a couple weeks."

"I hope you can. I think my mom would like meeting you."

"I'd like to meet her too. She sounds pretty awesome."

"And we'd like you to help us with wedding plans."

"I'd love to." She gushed.

She ordered and our food arrived a little while later. We made small talk for a while. And then Jill kicked Adrian under the table. "I'm trying to eat over here."

He smiled into his plate of bacon. "Sorry, kid. But you know how to block it pretty well now."

"Just because I know how, doesn't mean I have the energy to do it all the time."

He chuckled. "At least I wasn't thinking dirty thoughts."

"Not that time. It's still vomit-inducing when all you think about is 'how beautiful Sydney is' and 'how much you're going to miss her' and 'oh, she's going to make such a great mother one day.'"

"Mother?" I asked. "You're still on that?"

"I will convince you one day." He said adamantly.

"Not any time soon."

"No, I'm sure of it." He turned back to Jill. "Sorry again, kid." He looked at his watch. "Shouldn't you be headed to class?"

"Right." She sighed, sliding out of the booth. She reached into her pocket and Adrian stopped her.

"It's on me, Jill. Get going. I know how much you're looking forward to these last few weeks of class."

She laughed and kissed his cheek. "Can my friends and I come study at your place tonight? Your internet is better."

He heaved a dramatic sigh. "I guess. But here," he took out his wallet and passed over some cash, "Get some soda and stuff if you want. I'm out."

"Thank you." She kissed his cheek again and hurried out of the building.

"Are you sure she's not going to try to steal you?" I teased, going back to my coffee.

"I don't know. Sex could be interesting with someone who knows what you're thinking."

I gave him an odd look.

"You thought I was serious?" He threw his head back and laughed. "She's like my little sister."

"That's a relief." I laughed with him and sat back with my coffee. "Can we just drive around for a while? Is that a possibility?"

"Sure." He tangled his feet with mine under the table and we lingered for a while as I drake the rest of my coffee.

I gathered my things at Adrian's apartment and we made our way slowly down to his car. There were more Moroi about and I could feel the uneasiness rising. I waved off the keys. I just wanted to sit in the passenger's seat and watch him as he drove us around the small town.

He drove us around in silence for a while until he stopped at a park. He got out and sat on the hood, leaning against the windshield with his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky.  
I followed, resting my hands on my stomach. We didn't touch. We didn't talk. We just stared at the stars, being in each other's presence.

Adrian was the one to break the silence. "I come here sometimes when I need to be alone. I smoke a cigarette and I let it all just float away."

"Do you need to be alone a lot?"

"When I think about the fact that I'm engaged to a human…a former alchemist…a human who is halfway across the country…sometimes I miss you so much, Sydney. It hurts more than any heartache I've ever experienced. And partly because being with me has made your dad push you away even more than he has in the past."

"And what about yours?"

"He never liked me much anyway." His hand found mine. "I need to get you to the airport."

I sighed and looked over at him. "Hurry back to me."

"I will." He leaned over me and kissed me softly. "Stay safe until I get there."

"I will."

We shared another kiss before we reluctantly got into the car. I drove this time, following Adrian's directions back to the main road.


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's note: Here is the update, my dears! I hope you enjoy Adrian's POV because I apparently do as this chapter is almost completely from his eyes._

_Thank you for all the reviews and follows. Keep 'em coming!  
_

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Eight

I walked into the house Adrian had rented. I dialed his number and pressed the phone to my ear. "Hey, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Just starting to get up and around. What about you?" Adrian answered sleepily.

"Just got the key to your house and decided to do a walk-through."

"So you're standing in my house?" his voice full of excitement.

"I am."

"Fantastic. So, take the keys and go make a second set for you. I'm still trying to work on Jill's mom, but I'll bring her with me if I get the okay."

"Good. I'll do that first thing tomorrow." I wandered through the house.

"If you don't mind, could you get me some furniture? Stuff similar to what I have here, I guess. Just the basics. It _is_ a rent house, so I don't need anything too fancy. Standard bed for both guest rooms, but make the master is a king size. I'll transfer some money into your account."

"Are you sure you trust me with that?"

"I am. Just a couch and chair for the living room. Small dining table and chairs for the kitchen. I'm going to have guardians in my house when Jill visits, so go for six chairs, just to be safe."

"Okay. What about curtains? Bedding?"

"Just standard. I'm not picky. Except with the sheets."

"I know. Egyptian cotton. Five hundred thread count."

"Thank you, honey." He crooned.

"I'll make sure to send you pictures of all the things before I buy them."

"No need, Syd. It's all just temporary anyway."

"Okay. It all looks good here, by the way."

"Good. I can't wait to see it in person." He sighed. "I love you, Sydney."

"And I love you. I'll see you soon." I hung up and looked around the kitchen where I had stopped in her perusal of the house. There was a fridge still there from the previous tenant. I walked over and opened it tentatively.

Thankfully it was empty. But it was also quite dirty. I would put in some elbow grease to get this place ready for my fiancé to move in.

* * *

"You have to take Eddie. There is no one else I trust more." Lissa explained. "Except for Rose, and I don't want her to go. I may need her and I know you'd rather you didn't have to spend a month in close-quarters with your ex-girlfriend when you're moving to be near your fiancée."

"Then anyone but Angeline as his second." I suggested. "I think we were lucky in Palm Springs, but they are so much more serious now and Angeline lacks Rose and Dimitri's dedication to the assignment. She could screw up."

"I understand your concerns. Let me talk to Rose and Dimitri. We'll find a replacement for Angeline and some way for her to remain distracted so she doesn't run off to be with Eddie." She reached over and pushed an intercom button.

"Yes?" Rose answered, sounding a little breathless.

"I need a meeting with you and Dimitri."  
"We'll be right in."

"Maybe dedication isn't the right word…" I said, stepping toward the door. "I'll let Jill know. She's not going to like this."

"Adrian, I know the situation. But there's really nothing I can do about it. Jill will be fine. Eddie knows how to protect her."

"Whatever you say." I stepped out into the front room to find Rose and Dimitri tugging at their clothes as they walked to Lissa's office. I smirked. "Way to stay on your toes."

Dimitri gave me a hard glare.

Rose just smiled and shrugged.

I waved them off and went in search of Jill. She would be getting out of her last class soon. I stood outside the door to the school and took my one daily allotted cigarette from behind my ear and lit up.

The final bell rang and students started spilling out of the doors. Jill found me and took the cigarette from my hand. She looked at it a second and then dropped it on the ground and stomped it out.

"You know Sydney hates that." She commented.

"I know. But I only smoke one a day."

"You told her you quit. Don't you think it's about time you actually did?"

I sighed. "I didn't come here to be berated by you about my smoking."

"Why _did_ you come?"

"To tell you that Lissa won't give you a different guardian. She said she trusts Eddie with your safety."

"Damn it." She said. "Got another cigarette?"

"No, but if you want something stronger, I have some at my house."

"I think I might take you up on that offer sometime." She grabbed my arm and stopped me. "What about her?"

"She gets a replacement. But I don't know who yet. Lissa was meeting with Rose and Dimitri about it when I left."

She sighed and continued on. "When are we going?"

"A week from yesterday."

"Do you think it would upset my mom too much if I spent most of the week with you?"

"You're going to be with me for a month, kid. Spend some time with your mom. She's going to miss you."

"Okay." She sighed. "But can I take you up on that offer from earlier?"

I smiled and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "Better not. You're underage."

"At Court, there is no underage."

"That's not true. And just because you're the queen's sister doesn't mean you're above the law. In fact, you should really strive to follow all the rules."

She stopped me again. "I get it. Stop rambling."

I smiled. "Sorry. Go home. Spend time with your mom. I'll let you know more about the guardian situation."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around my waist. "I may use my key to sneak in after she goes to bed."

"I'll turn down the sheets in the guest room for you." I kissed her forehead and then stepped away. "Just don't make too much noise."

"I won't." She headed off toward her house nearer the center of Court and I turned in the opposite direction.

My phone rang as I let myself inside my apartment. It was Rose. "Yes?"

"I have the solution to your problem."

"It's not you, is it?"

"As bored as I get with Court life? No. There's even less to do in Utah. We're sending along another female, though. With the plans Sydney and Jill have to do wedding stuff, I'm sure it will be much less excruciating if there is another woman."

"So who is it?"

"My mother."

"Your mother? Are you serious?"

"No, of course not." She laughed. "She'd kick your ass. No, actually it's new guardian who just graduated. This will be her first official assignment, but Dimitri and I feel Eddie is a good mentor. And this should be a fairly easy assignment. Her name is Leah."

"Okay. Well that makes things a little better. I'd say keep your eyes out for Angeline when you actually dole out the assignment. I don't want Leah to fall to her wrath."

"Yeah, I don't either." She said shortly. "Anything else we can do for you?"

"No, I think I'm set."

"Okay, bye." She hung up.

I shook my head at the phone as I went about making myself something to eat.

* * *

I was awakened by the sound of the front door clicking shut. Then I heard Jill moving down the hall. She whispered, "Just me." as she passed.

I rolled over and started to doze off when my phone beeped with a text. I squinted at the screen. "_Found you a couch._"

I opened the text to see the picture and laughed out loud. It was a plaid couch very similar to the one I'd had in my apartment in Palm Springs.

A second text popped on the screen. "_I'm sorry, I know you're asleep, but I saw it and couldn't resist sharing. Sweet dreams. Call when you wake up._"

She never ended her texts with confessions of love. And I was usually the one to say it first. I suppose she was still scared that it was all a dream, just like I was. I sent a reply, "_Get it. We made a lot of memories on the other one._"

"_Not a chance. No one really wants a plaid couch. I already got one for you anyway._" She sent off a picture of a nice set of plain gray furniture.

"_That's nice. Thanks. Beds?_"

She sent another picture.

"_Looks like I'm all set._"

"_Just need accessories._"

"_Okay. We'll be there in a week. Love you._"

"_I love you too. I can't wait to see you._"

"_Same here._" I rolled over and went right back to sleep.

* * *

Adrian and the others were almost there according to Jill's text. I was exhausted. I'd worked a long day and then had supervised the unloading of a lot of Adrian's things into his new house. I helped a lot too. Some of his things were staying at his apartment at Court, but he'd sent ahead all the things he needed here. Everything was still in boxes. I thought about helping unpack everything, but decided it would be best if I let Adrian deal with that.

I stretched out on the couch and pulled the throw over me as I waited for him to arrive. I must have actually dozed off because I didn't hear the car pull into the drive. The knock jarred me.

"Sydney?" Adrian called.

I struggled off the couch stumbled to the door. "Sorry. I fell asleep."

"I expected to be here by now." He smoothed my hair down and then kissed me softly. "Hi."

"Hi." I said back, putting my hand on the back of his neck and pulling him back to me for another kiss.

Jill cleared her throat and we stepped apart. Jill and I shared a quick embrace. I nodded to the young woman standing beside her.

"This must be Leah." I said, holding out my hand. "Welcome to Utah. I'm Sydney."

She smiled kindly. "Nice to meet you, Sydney. They've told me everything about you."

Eddie appeared just as Adrian closed the door. "The perimeter looks clear."

"Good." I said. "Now come and say hello to me."

He chuckled and pulled me into a tight hug. "You sure have loosened up."

"I know. But we all got pretty close." I put a hand on Adrian's arm. "Thanks to this guy."

He smiled at me and then kissed my temple. "Show us around?"

"Sure." I handed him his keys and then walked around the house with the others trailing behind me and Adrian's hand in mine.

"You did well." He said as the tour concluded.

"Sorry I didn't make any of the beds."

"It's fine." He said. "Are you staying here or are you going home?"

"I'd like to not drive in my current state."

"I'd like that too." He kissed me and then led me out to his car to unload their suitcases.

Eddie joined us. "Leah is taking first watch tonight. I'm going to sleep for a few hours and then help her through the day. I feel like it would be easier to get into that rhythm. And she can go out with you easily in the day and be alert if she sleeps part of the night. We may switch off once I know she can do it completely."

"Sounds good." I said. "And you?"

"I'll be fine. I know how to go on little sleep if I need to."

I nodded. "Just know your limits."

"I do." He assured me, taking some of the bags out and heading inside.

Adrian and I went into his room and made his bed. Then he rummaged in his suitcase and handed me one of his shirts.

"Thanks." I took it and closed the door as I changed.

He started unpacking, cutting open boxes that had "Bedroom" written on them. "Would it bother you if I worked in here?"

"No. I don't think so. And tomorrow is my day off, so I can stay in bed long after six AM."

"So I can fall asleep with you?" He pulled me into his arms.

"Yes. Just as I'm waking up."

He rested his forehead against mine. "I'm going to go see that everyone is getting settled in. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be in and out all night. And I may come to bed early."

"You _should_ come to bed early. You've been on the road for a long time. You must be so tired." I smiled seductively.

"And all I'll get from you is a cuddle. But I can handle that, I guess." He kissed me and then escorted me to the bed. He pulled the blanket down and I climbed in. He leaned over and kissed me softly. He turned out the light and then left the room.

I could hear him talking in the living room with Jill and Leah. I dozed off.

I woke up a short time later when a lamp was flipped on beside the bed.

"Sorry, honey." Adrian said softly. He kissed me as I rolled away.

I went back to sleep listening to him quietly unpacking his things.

* * *

Watching Sydney sleep without me was excruciating. After finishing one box of belongings, I kicked off my shoes and undressed. I bid Jill and Leah a good night and I climbed into bed with my fiancée.

Her eyes opened a fraction and then she wrapped her arm around me and went back to sleep.

I kissed her, wishing we had made better time so that I had a bit more time to greet her properly. But, of course, it would have been difficult with so many extra listeners.

It took me a while to fall asleep. I listened to the girls talking in the living room. They were getting along so well. I had to admit, Rose knew what worked.

I watched Sydney as she slept. She was relaxed, peaceful. I could see the faded lily tattoo on her cheek in the dark and I kissed it. I wish there was a way for it to go away completely, but there wasn't. At least now it was less visible.

She rolled to her back when I moved away. I draped an arm across her and moved close. I pressed my face into her neck, breathing her in. I felt her hand move up into my hair. And I fell asleep tangled lovingly in her arms.


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's note: I love when I have time to update so much. I really need to get some reading done, though..._

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Nine

I awoke the next morning cold. I looked over to see Adrian had moved away and taken the blanket. I tugged it back and he relinquished it, mumbling something as he plopped onto his stomach and pressed his face into the pillow.

I stretched and then draped myself over him. I kissed the back of his neck. "You should wake up. You went to bed not long after I did."

"Mm." He turned his head. "What time is it?"

"I don't know. I didn't even look." I kissed his cheek and then got up to find my phone I had left in the pocket of my pants. "Nine twenty-seven."

"Wake me at noon." He turned his head away. I heard him snoring softly a few seconds later.

I picked up my clothes off the floor and changed into them. I leaned over Adrian once more. "I'm going back to my place for a while."

He opened one eye and looked at me. I could see he was annoyed that I kept disturbing his sleep. "Want me to come over later?"

"No, I'll come back here." I kissed his forehead. "Sorry I bothered you. Go back to sleep." I kissed his cheek once more. "I love you."

He smiled. "Love you."

* * *

As soon as I got home, I started the coffee pot and then stepped into the shower while it brewed. After changing and drinking one cup of coffee, I poured a second and then went into my room. I looked at my dresser for a moment before I walked to it and opened the top drawer.

I took all the clothes out of the top drawer and set some of them aside. I took out some clothes from the other drawer and placed the other clothes from the top drawer into another.

I finished my second cup of coffee and poured a third. I retrieved the book I was reading from my bedroom and curled up in my favorite chair to read for a while.

My phone rang, jarring me. I only glanced at the screen a moment before answering. "Hello, Adrian. I wasn't expecting you."

"Well, you left and I slept for a little while. But then I woke up because I can't stay asleep in Utah if I know you're not doing anything."

"You just made that up."

"Okay, I did. But it was nice going to sleep with you. And will be even nicer when we go to sleep after sex."

I felt myself blush. "You should just be content that I let you have as much liberty as you do." I took a deep breath and said, "Would you like a drawer here?"

"A drawer? Like in your dresser? For my clothes?"

"Yes, all of those things."

"I guess if you're okay with it. And I can set up one for you here if you want."

"Okay."

"Should have thought of this before. You wouldn't have had to leave this morning."

"Yeah, that's what made me think of it."

"Okay, you can bring some stuff over. When are you coming back?"

"I'll be there in a little while."

"No rush, I was just wondering."

* * *

I was nervous walking into Adrian's house with my small bag of clothes and extra toiletries I brought with me.

Adrian met me right inside the door and took the bag from me. He led me to his bedroom where he emptied its contents almost reverently into an empty drawer. Then he filled it once more with his own things he'd set aside.

He stole a quick kiss. "Hi."

"Hi."

"Would you like some coffee?"

"I've already had three cups this morning. Better not just yet. But thank you."

"I'm in the middle of cooking. Would you like some of that?"

"Sure." I pulled him back for one more kiss.

"You told me you loved me this morning." He said as we walked out of the room together.

"I tell you that all the time."

"Only after I say it first." He stepped into the kitchen.

I sighed and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. "I love you, Adrian. Very, very much."

He leaned against me a moment. "And I love you so much more every day." He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my palm.

"If this is how you two are going to be all the time, maybe I'll get a hotel or something." Jill said from the doorway.

"Sorry, Jill." I said, backing away. I left a hand on Adrian's back. "Did you sleep well?"

"I haven't been to sleep yet." She sat down at the table. "I stayed up with Leah. And we both did a lot of sleeping in the car."

I kissed Adrian's cheek and then I sat across from his shadow-kissed friend. "Well, I'm so happy you all made it. My mom and older sister want to meet you. My younger sister is still trying to wrap her head around my engagement, so that may not happen."

Jill smiled. "I like meeting new people. And between all the things you and Adrian have said about them, I feel like I know them already."

I smiled and accepted the cup of coffee from Adrian.

"You don't have to drink it, but I started making it after I called you. Tell me if I'm getting any better?"

I took a sip. "Not bad. Could be a tad bit stronger."

He nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." He smoothed a hand over my hair.

"We should have a housewarming party." Jill said, getting up to make her own cup of coffee. "Invite Sydney's family and friends over to meet her fiancé and see the house."

"Nothing too extravagant. This isn't a permanent situation. Sydney and I are going to buy a house once we're married."

"And when is that?" She sat down once again, stirring the contents of her cup.

"Next October?" Adrian said. "Isn't that what we decided?" He sat a plate of sausage and bacon in the middle of the table then and went to work on eggs.

"Yes. And if you're making eggs for me, please don't cook them in that."

He sighed and took out another pan. "No yolks, right?"

"Thank you, sweetheart." I simpered.

"Anything for you, dear." He said back in mock sweetness.

"So we need to get everything started." Jill said. "Do you have an idea about style? Colors? Location?"

"Maybe at Court. But that hasn't been put down in stone yet." I said.

"Well, if you don't want it to actually be _at_ Court, there are some really cool churches in the surrounding area. Did you want a church wedding?"

I chuckled. "You're really into this already. I kind of do want a church wedding. Adrian, what were you thinking?"

"Whatever you want, Sydney."

"This is your wedding, too. I want your say."

He put a pan of eggs on the table. "I'd like a traditional church wedding. As long as it's what you want."

"It is."

He kissed me. "Good."

Jill smiled, "Okay. First thing we need to do is set the date and then the church. And then everything can flow from there." She started filling her plate. "If I'm starting to be too pushy, let me know and I'll shut up."

"It's no problem. I've been trying to organize things in my mind for a while." I said, accepting my plate of eggs from Adrian. "We should sit down and write out a To Do list after we eat."

"Eddie, Leah, I've got breakfast on the table if you're hungry." Adrian called, taking a seat beside me.

The two guardians came into the house, wiping their faces with towels.

"I'll get some in a minute." Eddie said, walking past us into the spare bedroom and then to the bathroom.

Leah made a plate and then sat apart. "I don't want to offend your noses." She said softly.

"So how's it going?" Jill asked.

"Eddie sure knows his stuff." She commented.

"He does." Jill said, looking down at her plate. "Do you feel like you know it already?"

"The basics. But he keeps telling me about his real-life experiences and it makes it more relevant."

"He's had quite a few of them." The Moroi girl said, still not looking up from her plate.

Eddie returned to the room and filled a plate. He sat down beside Jill.

There was a tense silence for a minute before Jill stood up and announced that she wasn't hungry.

Adrian and I exchanged a look. Adrian sent a glare to Eddie.

The guardian sighed and went after her.

"I don't want to talk." Jill snapped from the living room.

"What do you expect from me, Jill?" Eddie shot back "You never said anything. And you're mad at _me_? For what? Finding someone I care about? Having a life? We can't keep doing this."

"No, we can't. And it would be great if you would just stick to your job and leave me the hell alone." The front door slammed.

Leah stood when Eddie came into the room. "She can't be wandering around alone." She left.

Eddie took his plate and went into the other room.

"Welcome to Utah." Adrian sighed.

Jill came back into the house a short time later. Leah was on her heels. She put both their plates in the microwave to warm them back up.

"Where is he?" Jill asked softly.

"He went to be alone in his room." I said. "Are you okay?"

She shrugged. "It should be easier." She looked around at all of us. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Adrian said, reaching across the table.

I saw something pass between them.

"You can heal a lot of things, Adrian. But not a broken heart."

"Believe me, I know." He said softly, squeezing her hand.

As Jill and Leah went about washing the dishes, Eddie appeared with his plate. He sat it down on the counter without a word and then turned to me. "May I have a word?"

"Sure." We walked outside to sit on the front steps. "We need to get some furniture out here."

He nodded.

"So how is Angeline?"

He looked at his hands. "Fine." He sighed. "I couldn't be with Jill, even if I wanted. She can't have Dhampir children. She's a royal Moroi. She needs to advance her race and her line. She can't do that with me."

"Those are the facts. But there are other ways to do that, I'm sure."

"Of course. She can marry another Moroi. She can have Moroi babies. They can take on the Dragomir name."

"Do you have no feelings for her at all?"

"She was my friend. For a while she was my sister. Now? She's the one I'm charged to guard to my last breath. I can't do anything else or be anyone else. And I'm with Angeline. I can't beak one girl's heart to heal someone else's. Someone will end up hurting one way or another."

"Have you tried telling Jill this?"

"Until this assignment, she wouldn't give me the time of day. If we saw each other out walking, she'd turn the complete opposite direction or pretend I wasn't there. I can't fight with her over this for an entire month."

I looked out past the cars to the row of trees that blocked the yard from the road. "You have to make up. You're right, this can't keep going on. It's not just this month. Lissa trusts you with the welfare of her sister. You're assigned to her unless something happens to either change that trust or you just can't do it anymore."

He nodded.

"Look, Eddie, I know it's hard—"

"You don't know anything. Maybe if she wasn't the only sister to the queen it would be different. But all Lissa has right now is Jill and two babies. Those babies don't count yet. It's all about Jill."

"Dhampir and Moroi romantic relationships are becoming more the norm."

"But not when the Moroi is a princess. We can't be together."

"Then what made you want to talk to me?"

"To try to explain to you. Jill listens to you. So does Adrian. Neither of them like me much right now."

"I'll try to help them make sense of it. But I think this is a conversation you and Jill need to have eventually."

"If she'll ever be in the same room with me."

I nodded. "I don't want your animosity when we're out shopping for the wedding. Or when you all meet my family. It would be awkward and uncomfortable. Also, outside of my family, you and Jill and Leah are all Adrian's family. You need to act like it."

"Okay."

We went back inside and Jill once again left the room as soon as she saw Eddie. I followed.

"You have to learn to tolerate being in the same room as him. There is no other choice right now."

"How am I supposed to be in the same room with someone who can't stand me any more than I can him?" She sobbed.  
I sat down beside her. "Do you want to know what he told me?"

"Not really?"

"He hates that he's upsetting you. But he doesn't want to hurt Angeline either."

She sighed. "It hurts so much."

I pulled her to me as she cried heavy, painful tears. I had never known this kind of pain over another person. Not in this way. I had cried myself to sleep several nights over my father's abuse, but I got over it by controlling everything around me. I never had a shoulder to cry on.

Adrian knocked on the door and pushed his way in. "Is everything okay in here?"

"No." Jill sobbed looking at him. "Not with him here."

"Hey." He kneeled down in front of her. "It's going to be okay. I promise."

She looked down at him and wiped at her eyes. "Are you sure?"

He placed his hands on the side of her face. "I am. Everything will be fine."

"Everything will be fine." She repeated.

"You need a nap. Rest. You'll feel better on the other side of it."

She nodded and curled up on the bed. Adrian pulled the blanket over her and kissed her cheek.

"Sleep well."

"You used Compulsion." I hissed as he pulled me from the room.

"It was the best way I could think to calm her down."

"Come here, I need to tell you something." I pulled him into his bedroom and relayed what Eddie had told me.

"That's complete and utter bullshit." He said when I finished.

"That's what he thinks. And he's right about Angeline. He can't break her heart just because Jill is in pain. He'll end up hurting two other people in the process."

He sighed. "I guess you're right."

"I know you want Jill to be happy. I do too. But we have to believe that maybe there's someone else she's meant to be with. And if it's Eddie, it will work itself out."

He nodded and kissed my temple and then rested his head against mine. "You're pretty smart."

"I do what I can."


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's note: This chapter has some sweet moments as well as a few serious ones. I liked writing them and I hope you like reading them. Let me know what you think._

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Ten

Seeing Sydney's car in my driveway sent a thrill through me that I didn't know I could feel. I reached into the passenger seat and retrieved my paint supplies. Eddie appeared on the front steps.

"Need help with anything?" He asked.

"Yeah, I got some groceries in the back. And canvasses. You rip them and you will pay to have them replaced." I warned as I passed.

When I walked in I saw that Sydney, Jill, and Leah were at the kitchen table gathered around Jill's laptop. I dropped a kiss on top of Sydney's head as I looked at the screen. "Dresses?"

"You're not supposed to see!" Jill shrieked and minimized the browser.

Eddie chuckled as he started unloading the groceries.

Jill glared at him.

"We're just getting an idea." Sydney said calmly. "Open that other one and show him the cakes."

"Okay, but you have to close your eyes when I open the browser so you don't see the dress." Jill said.

I heaved an exaggerated sigh and made a show of covering my eyes.

"All clear." Leah said.

"Sydney likes this one." Jill said, scrolling down the screen to a traditional three tiered white cake. "But Leah and I like this one." She moved to a cake that was colored brightly and had four off-kilter tiers. "It's fun."

"You may think it's fun, but I think it's garish. I want the traditional, clean look of a white-frosted three tier cake. With the bride and groom standing on top, not hanging on for dear life."

"I agree." I said. "It's not your wedding, Jill. It's ours." I quickly added when she opened her mouth to speak.

"I appreciate your input. And I will let you convince me of almost anything else. But not the cake." Sydney said gently.

Jill sighed dramatically. "Fine."

I chuckled and nudged her shoulder. "It's not the end of the world if we want a different look for the cake than you. But we can still discuss the flavor. And you are welcome at the tasting. But that doesn't happen for a few more months, as your checklist advises." I kissed Sydney's cheek. "How was work?"

She made a face. "It was one of those really long days. One mundane thing after another. I won't bore you with the details." She lightly touched my cheek with her fingertips. "Where did you go off to?"

"Shopping. I had to replenish some of my paints and things. I got some new canvasses. And groceries." I pressed a kiss to her soft lips.

"You had a cigarette." She accused.

"Sorry." I stood and took a step away.

She shook her head. "I guess I can get used to you doing it every once in a while."

"I'll stop." I assured her.

"No rush. But just because you're a vampire, doesn't mean it's not harmful."

I smiled and lifted her hand to my lips. "Got it." I kissed her knuckles. Then I looked around the room. "Who's cooking tonight?"

"Not it." Jill said, putting a finger on her nose.

"Sydney and I cooked last night." I pointed out.

"I fail at cooking." Leah reminded us.

We all paused as we remembered the disaster that was her spaghetti. Everything was overcooked. And she had left the burner under the pan on once all the components were mixed together, searing the food to the bottom of it. And the bread wasn't even edible.

"I'll do it." Eddie said, getting to work.

Sydney asked, "Do you need any help?"

"Naw, I'll be fine. Thanks." He watched Jill for a moment as she gathered her computer and walked out of the room with Leah.

"Thanks, Eddie." I pulled Sydney outside onto my back patio. I sat down in a lawn chair and pulled her onto my lap. I pressed my nose into her hair. "I missed you today." I whispered.

"I always miss you." She replied, leaning into me.

"Yeah."

She turned her head. "Do you really want a cake like that or were you just defending my opinion?"

"I want it. But not white cake. White is kind of boring. I want chocolate or something."

"My mom is allergic to chocolate."

"Maybe we can do a Neapolitan thing. Each tier is a different flavor cake. And I want lilies cascading down the side."

"Lilies?"

"Lilies always make me think of you." I stroked her left cheek.

"How romantically corny." She chuckled and then pressed a kiss to my lips.

"That's one of the last things we need to do, though. So we have plenty of time to decide."

"We need to figure out a budget."

"It's unlimited." I assured her. "You want it, you got it."

"Adrian—"

"Sydney, I don't know about you, but this is it for me. I want to show everyone how much I love you by throwing you the wedding every little girl dreams of having."

"You don't have to."

"But I want to."

"I know it's still quite some time, but I'm going to go to look at dresses with Jill this weekend. She's all about keeping you out of it. I'm not planning on actually picking anything out, but you know what looks best on me. So I'd like you there this first time to give an opinion. At least on shape and fit."

"I'm honored. I hope your mom and sisters are going to be part of this too."

"Me too. Mom is coming for sure. I set up the appointment while I was at work. I know Zoe will want to come if she's around, but I don't know how she feels about you these days. And Carly's homework load will be what we have to think about with her. She's working through the summer. _And_ she has a part-time job."

"Well," I pushed her hair away from her face, "you'll have a big entourage. Have you decided about your bridesmaids?"

"My sisters and Jill. Carly as maid of honor."

"Well, that was easy."

"You don't think Jill will be upset she's not maid of honor?"

"No, I think she'll be okay."

"Do you have any idea about groomsmen?"

I rested my forehead against hers. "None."

"You're closer with Jill. Would you like to ask her to be on your side? I haven't asked her yet."

"I don't know if she'd be comfortable with that."

"Why not? You're best friends. Like siblings."

"I guess I can talk to her." I grinned. "She could already be listening in now."

She gave me a lingering kiss and then stood, stretching. "I never go outside at night when I'm home alone. When I was a little girl, I used to go out in our back yard and look up at the stars for hours." I watched as she lay down on the ground with her hands on her stomach. "I used to know all the constellations. But I forget them now."

"Why the interest in stargazing?"

She shrugged and turned her head toward me. "I wanted to do everything but become an Alchemist."

"Well, you're not anymore."

"I wouldn't trade it." She said softly, looking at the sky again.

"Never?"

"I wouldn't have met you if I wasn't." She held out her hand. "Come here."

I lay down beside her, holding her hand. She pointed out a few of the constellations that she remembered until Jill poked her head out the back door.

"Come eat." She said shortly and then went back inside.

We went inside and I pulled Jill into another room. "Have you done any spying lately?"

She smiled, "Well, I happened to see a little bit of something…"

"Concerning?"

A slow grin spread across her face. "The wedding party."

"So, would you like to stand up there with me?"

She threw herself at me with a happy squeal. "Yes! Yes, of course." She kissed my cheek. "You're the best ever. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"You don't count finding out you're royalty as the best thing ever?"

"Not when it changed everything." She stepped back, her smile falling.

"You were special before."

"When I was Jailbait?" She teased, her mouth tilting up in a smirk similar to one I usually sported.

"Yeah. Then." I draped my arm across her shoulder and steered her into the kitchen. "And you're still the same kind of special now."

"I share your mind." She pointed out. "Doesn't that make me a different kind of special?"

"I guess so." I pulled out her chair and then sat down beside her.

* * *

"Come home with me?" I asked Adrian softly, stroking his arm as we stood on his front porch.

"Okay."

"That was easy."

He chuckled. "We've been here over a week. I don't like it when you leave. And I hate to be here with you surrounded by everyone else. We can't…get anything done. And I just want to hold you and kiss you and touch you and not feel like someone is listening in the next room."

"Jill is always in your head." I pointed out.

"She has the ability. But she's stronger now than she was at first. She can block me from pulling her in. And I can set up my own block to keep her out if I don't want her there."

"So you're coming with me?"

"Yes. Give me your car key."

I took it off the ring and handed it over.

Adrian pulled his keys out of his pocket and handed them to me. "You don't mind Eddie driving your car, do you?"

"No, I don't mind."

"Good." He kissed me. "Be right back."

I heard the bits of the conversation inside. Adrian explained the situation and gave Eddie my keys. "Keep the doors locked and call if you need anything."

"Yes, Dad." All three chorused. They laughed.

"See you tomorrow, kids." Adrian said as he closed the door.

He and I walked to his car with our hands joined. We parted long enough to get in the car and then our hands were clasped again on top of the gear shift.

"Jill's dress needs to be different from the bridesmaid and the maid of honor dresses." I commented.

"It does. We should figure out colors."

"We should."

"I'm sure you and Jill already discussed a few."

"We did. But you're an artist and know colors better than us."

"I want gold to be one of them."

"I don't know about that."

"Then a creamy yellow?"

"I don't know." I pulled into my driveway and stopped the car. I turned to him. I lifted my hand to caress his cheek. "I like rich colors. Like emerald."

He smiled in the dark. "Do you think emerald and amber go together?"

"Maybe. We can see." I leaned over and kissed him, giving him a promise of more to come, and then got out of the car and headed toward my front door.

Adrian caught me around the waist as soon as we stepped through my front door. "Ah, silence." He sighed before he pressed his mouth to my neck.

"Mm." I put my hand into his hair and rested the other on top of his to stop their roaming.

"Let's take this to be bedroom."

I untangled myself from him and pulled him to the bedroom. We kicked our shoes of as we went and shed our shirts before we tumbled together onto the bed. We kicked off our jeans, our legs tangling together. He laughed into my mouth as we moved to the top of the bed.

We climbed under the blankets. I removed my bra and we lay in each other's arms, skin pressed together. I kissed him softly again and again. Our lips and tongues moved together lazily. He moaned and clutched me tighter to his chest. I could feel the pressure of his growing erection pressing against me.

I started slowly pulling away. I smoothed a hand down his face and then back up into his hair.

"We have to stop now?" He asked disappointed.

"I'm not ready for anything else yet. I'm sorry." I could hear the disappointment in my voice.

He let out a long breath and rolled to his back.

I rested a hand on his chest. "If…If you want me to…"

He put a hand on top of mine. "No. Not until you're completely ready."

"How do you know I'm not yet?"

"Because I'm really not either."

"But—"

He rolled back toward me and pressed a kiss to my mouth. "We're not going to have this talk."

"We always avoid this."

He sighed and pushed me onto my back. "Okay, we will. I want you, Sydney. I want you so bad. To be with you. Move inside you. Show you exactly how much I love you." He put his forehead against mine. "It hurts me not to. Physically. Emotionally. But I can't make myself do that. If I did…If we did…"

"What?"

"I don't want you to hate me, Sydney."

"Why do you think I'd hate you?" I cradled his face in my hands and pushed my fingers into his hair.

"I don't want to force you. I can see in your eyes that you're not ready. You can say it all you want, but you're not. I love you." He kissed me. "We'll wait. It's fine. I've done it this long, I'll do it longer."

"But how much longer? Because I see in _your_ eyes that it's getting more difficult."

"It is." He rolled away again. "One year and four months until we're married."

"You want to wait that long?"

"I don't."

I looked at him a moment and then back to the ceiling. "Let's reexamine it in four months."

"All right." He rolled onto his side once more and pulled the blanket up. He moved closer and draped his arm over me. "It's late."

"It is." I turned my head and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed the tip of my nose and rested his forehead against mine. "Sleep, my dearest love."

I closed my eyes, but sleep was illusive.


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's note: Dress shopping! Are you excited?! __A lot of the conversation I got on here came from _Say Yes to the Dress_. I adore that show! I hope you agree with the final decision. And many thanks to spazzingpurplecyborg on Tumblr for pointing it out in the first place.  
_

_Happy reading!_

* * *

Chapter Eleven

I was surprised to see Zoe get out of the back seat of Mom's car at the dress shop. She didn't look too happy, but she hugged me anyway. She glared over my shoulder at Adrian. Jill walked over with a kind smile.

I said, "This is Jill, Adrian's, um—"

"Best maid. Isn't that what we decided the title was?" My fiancé finished for me.

"It's still a work in progress." Jill contributed. "Best maid kind of sounds weird to me, but so does best woman." She shrugged. "We'll figure it out eventually. I'm this guy's best friend." She pointed to Adrian. "Among other things."

Introductions were made all around and then we walked into the shop for my appointment. It had been made clear when I made the appointment that I wasn't sure if I was going to buy a dress. I didn't want to tie myself down to actually picking a dress just yet unless I fell in love with it.

A woman walked out and introduced herself. "I'm Olivia and I'll be helping you look at dresses today. Who is my bride?" She had a giant personality. You could tell she loved her job.

I waved slightly, suddenly nervous. "Me. I'm Sydney."

"Who else do you have with you?" She asked perkily.

I could see Adrian was annoyed with her overly peppy attitude. I squeezed his hand as I introduced everyone to her.

Then she asked what I was looking for.

"I know what I want to see." Adrian said when I hesitated. "Something that shows off her figure. Something sexy."

"I don't know about sexy." I argued.

"Sophisticated, but sexy." He sent a smoldering smile to Olivia. "Mermaid or trumpet shape, I think."

"I'd like to see you in a ball gown." Jill said.

"You know I don't like those." I said.

"I'd still like to see it. Just to get a feel. You never know."

"Do you have any preferences, Sydney?" Olivia asked me.

I smiled and said shyly. "Simple. Straps or cap sleeves preferably. I don't know specifics except that I don't want a ball gown, but I'll try one for Jill."

She nodded. I could see the gears turning in her head as she envisioned the inventory in her mind. "What's your budget?"

"Unlimited." Adrian said before I could say anything.

"I actually would like to cap it at two thousand." I patted Adrian's hand.

"But if she happens to find something she loves for more, she can have it." He smiled and kissed my hand.

I returned his smile.

Olivia clapped her hands. "Okay, everyone follow me and we'll get started."

Adrian leaned into me and said, "If you find anything today you think you can't live without, don't second-guess it."

I nodded. "Do you want to see my final choice?"

"No. If you put one on and you know it's the one, don't come out with me still there." He kissed my temple.

Olivia talked us through looking for the dresses on the racks. Jill found a ball gown first off.

"Try it." She begged. "I just want us all to see. If you don't like it, fine. But if you don't try it, you'll never know."

I sighed and nodded. She hung it on a waiting rack that had been moved into the space.

"What do you think about lace, Sydney?" Mom asked, showing me a dress with lace detailing on the skirt.

"That's pretty." I touched the fabric. "I'll try it."

Olivia had loaded the cart with three dresses in the styles Adrian had requested.

I walked over to a set of dresses that were all lace. I was drawn to them after seeing the small detailing on the one my mom had chosen. I pulled one out away from the others. A sheath dress, it had wide straps and came down into a shallow V. It was calling to me.

"I think that one would look great on you." Zoe said over my shoulder.

"I agree." Carly said beside her.

"Me too." I chewed my lip and looked over to where Adrian and Jill were conferring over yet another mermaid gown. "Here," I took it down and passed it to Carly, "don't let Adrian see."

Carly very calmly took the dress and walked over to the rack. She motioned Mom and Olivia to her and pointed out the dress without bringing a lot of attention to it as she spoke with them. Both women smiled and nodded as she spoke.

"Sydney, may I ask you something?" Zoe asked timidly as she looked at some more dresses.

"Of course."

She looked straight at me. "He treats you well?"

"Very well."

"Has he ever…?" she averted her eyes, "had a drink?" She pointed to her neck.

"No. Never. I wouldn't allow it and he's never asked."

"Dad called you a blood whore." She said in a hoarse whisper.

"I'm not. I swear to you I'm not." I put an arm around her shoulders. "He's a gentleman. A rascal, but a gentleman." I gave her a squeeze. "Will you please give him a chance?"

"I'll do my best." She assured me.

A few minutes later, I was donning my first dress: the ball gown Jill chose.

"I don't like this." I sighed. "But I need Jill to see."

I stepped out in front of everyone.

"Oh, honey, no." Adrian said when he saw me. "Sorry, Jill, but that's all wrong."

I nodded. "I agree."

Jill sighed. "You were right. Go change." She waved toward the dressing room.

The next was one of Adrian's mermaid dresses. I was barely able to walk in it and pointed that out when I showed it to everyone.

"Hm." Adrian said appreciatively. "Perfect."

"I can't walk, Adrian." I protested.

"You can figure that one out. Look at yourself. Those curves, my god. You always keep them hidden." He looked to all the others. "Don't you agree?"

"You look pretty hot." Jill agreed.

Leah and Eddie nodded.

"It's nice." Mom said. "But do you like it?"

"I guess I could get used to it." I said uncertainly.

"But do you like it?" She asked again.

I looked at Adrian in the mirror. "I don't hate it."

"What _do_ you like about it?" Olivia asked.

"I like the way it fits at the bodice. I don't like that it's strapless. But I feel confined in this skirt. I can't move. How am I going to dance?"

Adrian sighed. "Okay."

I turned. "I'm the one who as to wear it."

"I know. I just want you to see yourself in this dress the way I see you in it."

I smiled. "I do. And I appreciate it." I leaned down and kissed him. And then I shuffled out of the room.

"Do you want to try this one?" Olivia asked, indicating the lace dress my sisters and I had decided on.

"I really like that one. I don't want Adrian to see it."

She nodded. "Your sister explained that. We could try the others and put this one on last."

"Yeah, let's do that."

I tried on the others. There was a fit and flair which was better than the mermaid dresses (all of which I tried for Adrian's benefit), but not much better. One had a corset top and a tulle skirt. It was pretty, but not what I wanted. I felt like I was drowning in dresses by the end.

"There's one more dress." I said after we all turned the last one down. I looked at Adrian. "Take a hike."

He smiled. "You think it's it?"

"I do." I smiled over his shoulder. "Take Eddie with you. He's had enough."

The guardian looked relieved.

He sighed and stood. He gave an exaggerated bow. "Ladies." He and Eddie left and I stepped back into the dressing room.

"Now, this is actually a mermaid, but it's not as drastic as the ones your fiancé wanted you in. It hugs the torso and the hips and flairs out mid-thigh. It has the cap sleeves you wanted, as I'm sure you saw. And is perfectly within your budget."

"How much?"

"Two thousand before alterations."

"Oh, yes, that's perfect." When she finished zipping me in and clamping it in back to fit better, I stood staring at myself. I ran my hands over the fabric. "I look exactly how he wants me to." I could feel the sting in my throat of the tears. I took a deep breath and waved at my face. "I need to go out there before I break down."

I met my mother's eyes as I walked out. And the tears started flowing.

"That's the dress." She said.

"It is." I sniffed. I stood on the podium. "Look at me."

Zoe said, "He's going to faint."

"He is." Jill agreed. "That's beautiful. _You're_ beautiful."

Leah nodded and agreed with the others.

"Carly, you're not saying anything."

"Because I'm speechless." She wiped at her eyes.

Olivia came over with a box of tissues and we passed it around. Even Leah shed a few tears.

"So this is it?" the consultant asked.

"This is it." I said. "Go get Adrian's credit card."

We all laughed through our tears. I was brought to the dressing room once more and all the paperwork done. I was measured and the dress style was recorded.

"And when is your wedding again? Sixteen months?"

"Yes. So plenty of time to get this right."

"Exactly. We get so many brides in here who only have a few months. And then our alterations department is swamped."

"I hate the idea of rushing things. And this is the only time Jill will be here for a while. She lives in Pennsylvania."

"Is that where your fiancé's from?"

"Yes. He just moved here to be closer to me. I work at an auto shop with my mom and Adrian is an artist, so he had more flexibility to move."

"That's sweet." She said, finishing up the last of the paperwork. "Let's get you all figured out up front."

Adrian pulled me close as he leaned casually against the counter. "Jill and Zoe said I'm going to faint." He said, one side of his mouth tilting up.

"I think you might." I pushed myself up on my toes and brushed a kiss across his lips.

"You're only required to put down a deposit on fifty percent of the cost."

"And what is that?"

She figured the cost and told him the deposit amount.

"Put it all on here." Adrian handed over his credit card. "I was planning for a deposit of at least two thousand."

"Sorry I don't have expensive tastes." I rubbed his back and nuzzled his neck. "I wear coveralls all day and come home covered in grease and motor oil with gunk under my nails. I don't need anything fancy, you know that."

"I do. I just want to make sure you get what you think you deserve." He removed his arm so he could sign the paperwork. "Does this say what type of dress this is?"

"Just the designer and dress number." Olivia said.

"Please don't try to find it. You need to be surprised. You promised."

"And I don't want to know until you're walking down that aisle one year from October eighth." He kissed my cheek.

"You two are so precious." Olivia said as she passed back Adrian's card and receipt.

"Thanks." Adrian said sheepishly and wrapped his arm around my waist, resting a hand on my hip.

"When will the dress be in?"

"It should be here in about six months. That would be December. Sometimes they arrive sooner. We'll call when we get it in so we can schedule your first fitting." She passed over a card from the stack on the desk. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call."

We thanked her and then walked out hand-in-hand. The others were mingling outside. Jill leaned against the building in the shade.

"You okay?" Adrian asked.

She shook her head.

"We haven't visited the feeder for a while." He mumbled.

"Then you should go." I said. "You could hire your own, you know."

He shook his head. "I won't do that to you. I'll just go out when I need it."

"As long as you're sure."

"I am." He kissed my forehead.

My mom came over. "So what are you all gabbing about?"

"Jill needs to get out of the sun. Get some sustenance." I explained.

She nodded. "We should get going then."

"We'd love to have you over while Jill is still in town." Adrian told her.

"And I would enjoy that." She looked at me proudly and then pulled me into a hug. "You're going to be the most stunning bride. I can't wait to see it again." She pushed some hair behind my ear. "I love you."

"I love you, too." I hugged her once more and then bid farewell to my sisters.

When we got in my car, Adrian said, "Just bring us back to my house and we'll go get replenished."

"No, I'll come with you. It's fine. I'll sit in the car."

"As long as you're sure?"

"I am. I know where the feeder house is. I visited a lot when I was younger and learning the ropes." I rested my hand in the middle of the seat and turned my palm up. I waved my fingers and smiled at him, looking at him out of the corner of my eye.

He slipped his hand into mine, twining our fingers. He brought it to his lips. "I love you." He said softly.

"And I love you." I squeezed his hand.

"Eddie, please stop touching me." Jill said from the back seat.

"I really can't help it. It's kind of cramped back here." He said plaintively.

"Put your knees together and it wouldn't be so cramped." She shot back.

"All right, that's it." I pulled over and turned around. "You guys used to be friends. What changed?"

Neither said anything.

"This isn't good for your relationship. Eddie, Lissa trusts you with her sister's life. You are a guardian. You have a great responsibility. You can't keep this up and keep her safe at the same time."

"Thank you." Jill said.

"And you, Jill, need to stop blaming Eddie. It's not all his fault. The situation isn't that great, but I very much doubt you jumping down his throat every time he breathes is going to fix anything."

Both were silent.

"Now, we're going to the feeder. We've still got a little more time in the car. You can either take that time to make up or you can sit there angrily for the rest of the time." I turned back around and drove once more, both hands gripped to the steering wheel.

There was deafening silence in the back seat.

* * *

_Post story author's note: If you follow me on Tumblr, you've seen the dress. If not, or if you just want a refresher, you can find it at liancarlo. dot com (slash)style-5802 (removing all the spaces, of course. I wanted to make sure it would show). If this doesn't work, go over to my tumblr and it's are linked there. (booksrockmyface)  
_


	12. Chapter 12

_Author's note: The first moments in this popped into my head and I decided this was a good place to put it. I hope you enjoy! And Please feel free to review and let me know what you think._

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Twelve

Adrian's hands moved slowly over my naked flesh. His lips brushed mine fleetingly, nipping at my bottom lip. His fangs scraped slowly across my jaw. He took my earlobe in his mouth and swirled his tongue around it as he sucked gently.

His hand dipped between my thighs and started rubbing the aching throb that had become familiar. A moan escaped my throat.

"Sydney?" He said softly in my ear.

My eyes fluttered open. I was fully dressed and Adrian was looking at me in amusement.

"Having a good dream?" He asked, his mouth tilted up to one side.

I felt my cheeks redden. "What was I…?"

"You were just, um, moaning. And writing a little."

"Oh, my god." I rolled over and pressed my face into the pillow.

"I hope it was me."

"It was." I said into the pillow. I turned my head. "How embarrassing."

He chuckled and moved closer to me, draping his arm across my back. "It happens to everyone. Don't tell me you've never had a dream like that."

"I have, but not with you in the same bed."

He kissed me. "If we were having sex, it wouldn't be an issue."

"We agreed not to talk about it for four months." I rolled out of the bed and stood.

He looked at me helplessly. "I wasn't being entirely serious."

"Maybe just a little." I walked out of the door and into his kitchen.

There I was met with Eddie and Jill sitting very close together, hands clasped on the table between them. As soon as I stepped in the room, whatever whispered conversation they were having abruptly ended.

"Hello." I said awkwardly. I took a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and quickly left. I closed the bedroom door and leaned against it. "There's something going on between Jill and Eddie. They're holding hands in the kitchen."

He looked at me critically for a minute. "That's all they were doing?"

"They were having some sort of intense discussion that stopped when I walked in."

He got up and pushed me gently away from the door. He walked out and stomped into the kitchen. "What the hell?"

I followed. The two were now at opposite ends of the room, looking guilty.

"Adrian, don't be angry." Jill started plaintively.

"Don't be angry? You were just sucking face with a guy you couldn't stand to be in the same room with yesterday. Not to mention he's got a girlfriend." He rounded on the guardian. "What the hell are you thinking? You can't play with someone's emotions like that. You can't have it all. End it with one person before you start it with another." He was yelling.

"I think Angeline wants to break up with me."

"And Rose thought Dimitri would never love her again." He countered. He advanced and got in Eddie's face. "Don't play games with someone's heart, especially Jill's." He left, slamming the bedroom door behind him.

Jill cried softly in the corner. Then she ran out of the kitchen and pounded on Adrian's bedroom door. "I kissed _him_." She said in a choked sob. "Don't blame Eddie for _your_ broken heart." Then she walked away and closed herself in the guest room.

"I'm sorry." The guardian said softly. "I need to take a look outside." He walked away slowly.

I let myself back into Adrian's bedroom where he paced like a caged animal. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head again.

"Do you want to go back to bed?"

"Do you ever stop talking?" He snapped.

"If you want to be angry about all this fine. But don't take it out on me. I didn't do anything." I opened the drawer that contained my clothes and I started dressing.

"What are you doing?"

"You obviously don't want me here." I exchanged my pajama pants for a pair of jeans.

"What? Yes, I do. Stop it."

"When you stop comparing me to Rose—"

"Hold on a minute." He grabbed my arms. "Rose? What does she have to do with any of this?"

"I could never be her. Ever. Even when I tried…" I trailed off when the tears burned at my eyes and nose.

He gathered me in his arms. "No, you could never be Rose. And I like that about you. I love it about you." He smoothed his hand over my hair and back. "Don't leave. It's the middle of the night."

I whispered, "Do you ever think about her? In comparison to me?"

He hesitated. "I did at first. But now she's a friend. Only a friend. Never, ever can she compare to you. You're perfect. Beautiful. Smart. A constant challenge to me. And I love you, Sydney. I want to be shackled to you for the rest of my life. Now if that doesn't mean anything…"

"You're still angry with her."

"You don't get hurt that badly and not still sting when you're reminded of it. And I don't want Jill to have to go through that. It was bad enough when she had to go through it with me." He pulled away and placed his hands gently on the sides of my face, turning it up so I could see his eyes. They were glistening with unshed tears. "I was mad. I _am_ mad. But not at you."

I put my hands on top of his. "I never want to hurt you like that."

He kissed me hard on the mouth. His fangs pressed into my lips and I jerked away.

"I can't do anything right." He mumbled, climbing back into the bed.

"Hey, wait." I got into the bed beside him. "I'm sorry. I forget about your fangs sometimes."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Well, in my dream I was having earlier, you were scraping them across my jaw and I liked it. A lot." I cupped his cheek and stroked it with my thumb. "Maybe you're not mad at me, but you sure are mad at yourself."

He rested his forehead against mine. "Just hold me, Sydney. Hold me and stay with me."

"Until the very last minute, Adrian." I kissed him softly. I lifted my other hand and parted his lips, looking at his teeth in the dark.

He darted his tongue out and wrapped it around my finger, closing his lips around it.

I pulled it away and kissed his nose.

He smiled and pulled me closer. "You can go back to sleep. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"You have to go to work in a few hours."

"I love you, Adrian. Never forget that."

"I won't." He kissed me. "I love you too."

* * *

I was just starting to doze off when Sydney's alarm sounded. I let her turn it off and then pulled her back to me. "Can't you call in sick or something?"

"Not working with my mother." She pressed a quick kiss to my lips and then got up. "I could probably get away with it before you moved here and were just visiting. But you and I share a bed every night. There's no excuse."

I watched her gather her clothes. When she turned to leave the room, I said, "I'm sorry about last night."

"I am too." She smiled and then left.

I rolled over and went back to sleep.

Sydney slid into bed behind me a short time later and kissed the back of my neck. "Sit with me while I drink a cup of coffee?"

"Only if you eat something." I mumbled.

She sighed and kissed my neck again. "Anything for you, Adrian." She got up and I followed.

I stretched. "I really need to work out this sleep schedule."

"You do. You haven't slept at all, have you?"

"Just now." I followed her out of the room. "Give me a minute." I ducked into the bathroom and took care of some business, including brushing my teeth.

When I returned to the kitchen, Sydney was removing a slice of toast from the toaster. She sat down with a mug of coffee and the slice of toast. Nothing else.

I sighed. "Seriously?"

"I'm eating, Adrian. Like you asked."

"Just…"

"Stop." She said, reaching her hand out and putting it on top of mine. "I don't want to fight. I don't eat a lot, especially in the morning. Just get used to that."

"Get used to you starving yourself?"

"I'm working on it." She kissed my knuckles and sat back once again with her coffee. "What are you going to do today? After you get some sleep, that is."

"Try to talk to Jill."

She looked at me critically for a while. "She's stronger than you give her credit for sometimes, sweetheart."

I smiled. She'd never called me anything other than my name. If I called attention to it, she would get embarrassed and probably never do it again. So I didn't. "I guess. It's kind of rotten that he's still dating Angeline and trying to get with Jill."

"Jill said she kissed him. If anyone is trying to get with anyone, it's her." She finished her coffee and stood. "I have to go." She kissed me. "I love you."

"Love you." I called to her retreating back.

Jill emerged a few minutes later. "I haven't slept." She sat down beside me and put her head on my shoulder. "I'm an awful person."

I chuckled and wrapped my arm around her waist. "You like him. He likes you. It happens." I leaned my head against hers. "Before anything else happens, though, he needs to break up with Angeline."

"But I don't want to be his rebound."

"If he loves you—really loves you—it's not a rebound."

She kissed my cheek and then sat back. "You're a great big brother, you know."

"I always wanted a little sister." I yawned. "I need sleep. So do you. Let's continue this in a few hours."

"That sounds like a good idea." She stood and stretched. "Good morning." She smiled and left.

I smiled and went to my own room. There was a text from Sydney waiting on my phone. "_Made it to work. See you later. Love you._"

"_Love you too._" I sent back and then immediately fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Mom and I chatted almost ceaselessly all morning as we went from one project to the next. I was bent over the engine of an old Buick changing out a belt when Mom suddenly stopped talking.

Then she asked, "Sydney, are you a virgin?"

My grip on the wrench slipped and I scraped my knuckles. "Ouch!" I stepped back and looked at my hand.

"Sorry, I didn't mean…It's just the things you say about Adrian and how you act with him make me think…You don't have to answer." She picked up my discarded wrench and finished up for me as I washed up in a nearby sink.

"I am." I answered. "We're waiting." I wrapped up my hand in a paper towel and walked back over. "Not like we don't want to. We just haven't yet because he's too much of a gentleman and I'm too much of a coward."

She smiled at me as she closed the hood of the car. "Not a coward. Never you." She walked to the driver's side. "And it's admirable. Get the garage door, please."

I walked over and pushed the button to open the door as I thought about the exchange we had just had. I was preparing myself for it to happen, but we had another four months until we discussed it again. But waking up to that dream had me wondering all day if perhaps we needed to go one more step or just keep on as we have been.

I loved falling asleep beside him and waking up with him. Adding sex into the mix would probably make it all that more complicated. And I didn't want complicated right now. Or did I? I had four months to figure it out.


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's note: I didn't plan on updating this today, but I sat down to read and wasn't feeling it. So here this is._

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Thirteen

My phone rang as I was settling into my car at the end of the day. I looked at the screen and felt a smile spread across my face. I answered and put it to my ear.

"Hi." I breathed out.

"Hi. How was work?" He asked.

"Fine." I pulled out of the parking lot. "My mom asked me if I was still a virgin."

He laughed. "Oh, wow. Was that a shock to her when you said yes?"

"She didn't seem like it was. I sure was shocked at the question. I scraped up my knuckles. They still kind of sting. Are you going to kiss them and make them better?"

"Just get here and I'll kiss every bit of you until you feel better." He purred into the phone.

"I have to go to my place first."

"It's even more private there." He pointed out.

"If you come here, you can't keep an eye on Jill and Eddie. I think they're more important than you getting lucky."

"I've been with you for over two years. I haven't had sex at all in that time. This is one thing, honey, where you may be wrong."

"So you're pitting Jill's virtue and Eddie's conscience on the fact that you haven't gotten any in over two years? Knowing that I might not give you much?"

"You're a tough egg to crack, Sydney, but you will. I'll see to it."

"Maybe on our wedding night."

He groaned, "You're going to be then end of me."

"Well, if you play your cards right, I may let you see my boobs tonight."

"Oh, well, I guess I'll just sit tight and wait for you."

"Take a cold shower, sweetheart. It'll do wonders."

"Easy for you to say." He grumbled into the phone. "You should just come on over, I have clothes here. And Leah did my laundry. I told her she didn't have to, but she did anyway."

I sighed and turned my car toward his house. "This better be worth it."

"You know it is." He said seductively into the phone. "And I think I might implement an open door policy on the bathroom."

"If you do, I will never come to your house again."

"Okay, forget I said that last thing."

I laughed. "You know you could be the super sweet fiancé and get my clothes out for me."

"Could that be sexy lingerie that I may or may not have purchased for you in the hope that you would wear it for me?"

"You better not have bought me lingerie." I warned.

"And if I did? I've seen you half naked. Lingerie is basically just fancy underwear."

"We'll just have to see. You don't even know my size."

"I've held you against me enough to know your size." He paused. "Shouldn't you be here by now?"

"I'm turning down your road right now."

"Drive faster. I'm all alone."

"Alone?"

"Just get here."

A few minutes later, I walked into Adrian's house. He gathered me into his arms and kissed me hard on the mouth.

"God, I missed you." He said against my lips, kissing me again.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed back just as vehemently. He lifted me by my waist and I wrapped my legs around him. He walked us into the bedroom, our mouths still locked. He kicked the door closed behind him. He sat me on the bed and stood beside it, my legs still wrapped around him.

He lifted his mouth from mine and smoothed his hands over my face, shoulders, and back lovingly. He rested his forehead against mine.

"Well, hello, there." I panted.

"Hi."

"I could have a very happy life with you if that's how you greet me after a long day."

"It could be even better. You know that, right?"

"I do. But we're not ready. _I'm_ not ready." I kissed him softly. "Let me up so I can shower."

"I drew you a bath."

I looked at him critically. "You did?"

He took my hands and threaded our fingers together. "I was being the sweet fiancé. I sent Jill out with Eddie and Leah to get stuff for supper. I told them to stay gone as long as possible and call when they were headed back. You don't have to be naked in front of me, that's fine. Just go in there and relax."

I smiled. "I could probably be comfortable with being naked in front of you if you wanted to paint me."

He grinned. "I've wanted to do that for a while, but I didn't think you'd agree."

"How long does it take?"

"I'd kind of just like to take pictures from a few different angles. Then pick one. Transfer itto canvass."

"Of me in the bath?"

He kissed my hand. "Would that be all right?"

"Okay. Get your camera. Give me a few minutes to get settled in and covered a little. And you have to promise me that you won't sneak a peek anywhere lower than my navel."

"I promise." He kissed me hard. "I promise."

He stepped away and I scooted off the bed.

"Clothes and a fresh towel are waiting for you in there." He kissed me once more.

* * *

I was shaking with excitement as I stood outside the bathroom, camera in hand.

"Okay." Sydney called nervously through the door.

I turned the knob and hesitated. I took a deep breath and pushed it open. Sydney peeked at me from behind the shower curtain. I snapped a picture.

She blushed slightly and pushed the curtain away. "What do you want me to do?"

"Relax." I said, only partially to myself. "I'm going to come closer and move some tuff around. I'll do my best not to look where you asked me not to."

She nodded.

I pushed the curtain back a little more, keeping my eyes locked with hers. I leaned down and moved some of her hair away from her face. "Put your arms on the sides." I stepped back. "Bend that back leg a little." I watched as she did what I asked. "Perfect."

I took shots of her from different angles. I directed her to move to a few different positions, mostly involving her hands. "Now you can relax. And wait in anticipation for our wedding because I am taking my sweet time with this to make it perfect."

"What are you going to do with the pictures you don't pick?"

I gave her a wry grin. "Well, I have to have _some_ fantasies fulfilled, don't I?" I left the room before she could throw something at me.

I sat on my bed and scrolled through the pictures. I was able to get a few when she was moving and felt particularly ridiculous. She was laughing through her discomfort.

And as I looked through them, I was struck by the fact that I was marrying an amazingly beautiful woman.

* * *

I was just getting ready to drain the tub when I heard the front door open in a flurry of voices. They had returned and ended my solitude and only slightly veiled wish that Adrian would come back in and join me.

I took a quick shower and wrapped myself in the towel Adrian had left for me. I looked in the mirror. I was a mess. I finished dressing, simply brushing my hair out of my face.

I joined the others in the kitchen as Leah and Jill worked together at the counter. "Is this a good idea?"

Adrian pulled me onto his lap and chuckled. "That's what I thought. But Jill is teaching her an easy recipe." He kissed me. "Feeling relaxed?"

"Very. Thank you." I pressed my lips to his and then stood. I took a diet pop from the refrigerator. "What have you all been doing all day?"

"Sleeping mostly." Jill said. "I'm not used to being up and around during the day. We should look over venues for your wedding. You need to book one now that you have a date."

"May I use your computer? I have a couple I've been looking at."

"Yeah, it's on the coffee table."

I retrieved it and sat back on Adrian's lap. I typed in my email and opened some links I'd sent to myself. "I don't think I'd mind a reception at Court. Adrian already has an apartment there and all of you live there. It would also be safer and less conspicuous for a party within those walls. My family will be okay, I think. As long as it's okay with Lissa and the rest of the council."

"I like that." Adrian said, pointing to a picture I'd just pulled up.

"St. John's." I navigated to the page. "It's a Catholic church."

"I'm sort of Catholic. What are you?"

"Alchemist." I said wryly. "Is it going to be this easy?"

"We need to call and see if our date is even available." He said, wrapping his arms tighter around me. "Jill and I can go have a look when I escort her back. I'll take my own pictures and let you know if it feels right." He kissed my neck. "Or you could come back with us. I'll sweet talk your mom."

"I hope you mean real sweet talk and not compulsion." I warned, shifting slightly in his arms.

"Of course, honey." He kissed me. "We should see about these other ones, though."

I nodded and turned back to the computer. "Did you see this, Jill?"

"I did. I like it." She smiled. "Did Adrian tell you I decided on a title for my role?"

"No, because I don't know if I like it." He said.

"Best lady." She announced. "It sounds sophisticated. Best woman sounds too old. Best maid sounds too young. But best lady sounds like someone who's going somewhere."

"I like it." I turned to Adrian again. "Why don't you like it?"

"I'm just trying to decide."

"I like it too." Eddie said from across the table.

I happened to notice a grateful look pass between him and Jill.

"What do you think, Leah?" I asked.

"I like it." She said with a shrug.

"Hm, four to one." I looked to Adrian. "I think you're outvoted, sweetheart."

He narrowed his eyes. "I didn't realize we were making decisions for _our_ wedding by popular vote."

I smiled. "Well, there will be some things that will be between you and me."

"Like what?"

"Like the honeymoon."

"Hm. I have some ideas. I see sun and beaches."

"And where's the fun in that for you?"

He pressed his mouth close to my ear and whispered, "The taste of sun on every blessed inch of your gorgeous skin."

I felt myself blush.

"Other people in the room." Jill announced. "Including one who gets enough of it from being connected to your mind."

"Sorry." Adrian said in a very unapologetic voice. "So what else is on the wedding planning agenda?"

I pulled up the checklist Jill had found. "Photographer. Do we know any?"

"The guy who did Lissa and Christian's wedding was pretty good. Don't you think, Jill?"

"Yeah. And he works well with everyone involved, Lissa said."

After a phone call to the Moroi queen to get the name of the photographer, we spent the rest of the evening looking over his website.

Eddie and I washed the dishes as the other three went to the living room to find a movie to watch.

"So what's going on?" I asked after an excruciating silence.

"What do you mean?"

"With you and Jill."

"I'm going to call Angeline tonight and have a talk with her. Figure it all out."

"And?"

"I'm not going to break up with her over the phone, if that's what you're asking."

"No, I expect you to be more decent than that. And what about Jill?"

"We're going to remain friends until Angeline and I are no longer together."

"I hope you'll wait a couple weeks so it doesn't look bad."

"Yeah. I don't want to have Angeline mad at me, but I sure as hell don't want her mad at Jill for thinking she took her man."

I laughed. "Yeah, that wouldn't be good at all."

"Eddie, don't move in on my fiancée." Adrian called from the living room. "You've already got enough to make a decent harem."

"Don't want to make _him_ angry either." I patted Eddie's back as I handed him the last dish to rinse.


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's note: Thank you all for reading. I really appreciate it. And I'm glad you guys are sticking with this._

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Fourteen

I climbed into bed and watched Adrian change out of his jeans and into sweats. He pulled his shirt off and threw it into the corner of the room, kicking his jeans after them.

"You didn't say anything about the reception idea." I said, moving closer as he climbed in with me.

"I wanted to think about it before I said anything." He put his hands behind his head and looked up at the dark ceiling.

I put my head on his shoulder. "And?"

"I don't think it's such a good idea. I mean, it is." He put an arm around my shoulder. "But not for your family. Zoe's acceptance of me is still so shaky. What's she going to do around more of my kind? She'll be surrounded by them with no easy escape. And your mom and Carly have never interacted with Moroi and Dhampirs other than us."

I sighed and rolled away.

"And now you're mad at me."

"I'm just trying to accommodate everyone." I said, feeling the sting in my nose that signaled tears were close. "This is so frustrating."

He wrapped his arms around me. "I know, honey. Let's just breathe."

I took in a deep breath and rolled over in his arms. "So what is your alternate suggestion?"

"We'll find a hall. Maybe the church has a fellowship hall we can rent out." He combed his fingers through my hair. He kissed me softly. "Don't worry. We'll figure it out."

"I guess you're right. It's going to be hard enough for them during the service."

"Right."

I pressed a hard kiss to his mouth. "You're great."

"So are you." He watched me a moment in the dark and then pushed me onto my back.

"What are you doing?"

"Just let me do something." He said softly. He brushed his fingers over my face and neck. His hand trailed down my chest and stomach lightly and then slipped under the hem of my shirt. He put his mouth against mine as he rubbed his thumb over my nipple.

I sighed and opened my mouth to his. He slipped his tongue inside and gently explored my mouth. I buried my fingers in his hair and held his face close to mine. I stroked his tongue with my own.

His hand stopped moving but stayed resting on my breast. He moved his mouth away and a whimper escaped me. He smiled down at me and then returned his lips to mine fleetingly. He trailed kisses along my jaw and down my neck.

"You need to stop." I said breathlessly.

"I know." He brought his mouth back to mine and kissed me lazily for a few more moments. His hand came out from under my shirt and he rested it on my stomach. He looked down at me once more. I could see his eyes burning with lust. He groaned and rolled out of the bed. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Adrian?" I called after him.

He turned at the door. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"I am too."

He left the room and I groaned myself. I wanted it as badly as he did, but we both knew that if I gave in now, I'd feel guilty. So I rolled over and tried to get my body under control. I guess it was easier for me than it was for him.

I was asleep when he came back. The bed shifting woke me up. I squinted at him in the dark.

"Go back to sleep, Sydney." He rolled away.

I rolled into his back and wrapped an arm around him. "I love you." I mumbled.

He melted into me, resting his hand on top of mine. "I know."

I kissed the back of his neck and rolled away. I fell back to sleep easily, but was awakened several times in the night by my restless fiancé on the other side of the bed.

He finally gave up and left sometime in the early hours of the morning. I vaguely heard him talking to Eddie in the living room. I listened to the pitch of his voice and went back to sleep once more, sleeping hard until my alarm went off several hours later.

"I made you coffee." Adrian said, sticking his head in the door briefly.

"Adrian, come back in here and talk to me, please." I called after him.

He stepped in the door. "What?"

"Would you like me to stop staying over?"

"Of course not."

"Then what can I do to make it better?"

"Nothing. I started it. It's my fault."

"It's not all your fault, Adrian." I walked to him and placed my hands on his waist. "We don't have to wait another four months to talk about it."

"We don't have time to discuss things this morning." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "It's fine."

"No, it's not."

"It is."

I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Get some sleep today and try not to think about it."

"I'm trying."

"We could move the wedding up."

"No. Definitely not. We'll get through this. I don't want to discuss this in four months. I'm making the decision now that we're waiting until we're married. I'm fine. I've dealt with it this long. I'll deal with it for another year." He kissed me softly. "Go on, I'll make you breakfast while you shower. You're going to be late for work."

* * *

I don't know what I was thinking telling Sydney that I'd wait for her that long. And I think that I would take her up on the offer to sleep apart for a while. We were too close. She was too convenient. And I wanted her more and more when she was there.

Maybe it would get easier.

"And maybe I'll learn to fly." I mumbled to myself.

"Well, you may have some sort of ability you haven't discovered yet." Sydney said from behind me.

I turned, one side of my mouth quirked up. "Hello, beautiful." I kissed her hard on the mouth. I'd never get over kissing her. "And you may be right about the abilities." I wrapped my arms around her waist and pressed our hips together. "Wanna try it out?"

She slapped me away and walked toward the coffee pot. "Not today." She poured some coffee into her cup. "Where is everyone?"

"Eddie's asleep on the couch. He looked exhausted. Leah will be up soon anyway. I can keep watch for a while." I reached for her again, but she stepped away.

"No, Adrian." She glared at me. "You can't tell me one minute that you want to wait and then grab at me."

"I'm sorry, Syd." I said softly. I turned back to the stove and took the omelet I'd made for her off the stove, transferring it to a plate. I handed it to her. "Here, please eat at least a couple bites."

She took it and sat down at the table. I watched as she put a bite in her mouth and chewed it slowly.

"Thank you." I turned around and started cooking for myself.

"You're a good cook."

"I've been working on it."

"You're going to be a great househusband." She teased.

I laughed. "You know, I _do_ have a job."

"I know you do, sweetheart. My mom doesn't think being an artist is a real profession. And you don't have to work because your family is loaded." She took another bite.

I shook my head. "I hope you set your mother straight."

"Don't be offended, Adrian."

"I'm not." I smiled over my shoulder at her. "Your dad would have something to say, I think."

"I _know_ he would." She finished the omelet and sat back with the rest of her coffee.

I sat down at the table across from her. "I'm going to take commissions from the people at Court for a while. And still do my own thing on the side. Maybe I'll sell some stuff to a gallery eventually."

"I think it's great, Adrian. I do." She reached across and put her hand on top of mine. "You're very talented."

"I'm glad you think so."

"Do I get to see the one you're doing of me as it happens?"

I smiled and shook my head. "Not a chance, honey. It's a wedding present."

"Well, I've got get one planned for you, too."

"I know what it's going to be." I smiled. "It will involve you living out all my fantasies."

Jill cleared her throat from the doorway.

Sydney blushed and took a sip of her coffee to hide her embarrassment.

I gave Jill one of my charming smiles. "Can I help you?"

"You and Sydney can talk about that stuff when you're alone." She said, opening the fridge.

"Sydney has to go to work." My fiancée said. She put her dishes in the sink and then walked around to kiss me. "See you this afternoon."

"Goodbye. I love you." I pulled her in for another kiss.

"Same here."

Once she was gone, Jill sat down across from me. She held out her hands. "A little help please?"

I took her hands and concentrated to pull up my healing magic. I took away the darkness that had leaked through the bond. I opened my eyes and looked at her. "Better?"

"Much." She got back up and went to the fridge once more. "Whatever happened last night was horrible."

"You should have been on my end of it."

"I was." She snapped. "My god, you'd think you'd be over it by now."

"You try being a guy in your twenties and tell me _then_ to get over it." I put my dishes in the sink on top of Sydney's.

"I've seen enough of your dirty, lustful thoughts to know." She said.

"I'm sorry." I looked down at my hands. "I'll work harder to keep you out."

"You just work harder to keep Sydney happy. She feels guilty that it hasn't happened yet."

"How do you know?"

"She mentioned it."

"Then she and I will work it out. You don't need to worry about it." I kissed her forehead. "This is between the adults."

She shoved me. "You're an idiot."

I laughed. "I try."

"Look, I know you don't want me to talk about this with you, but I care about both of you. And I just want you to be satisfied."

"I'm satisfied, Jill. And now I'm done talking about this with you." I started washing the dishes as Jill finally sat down with a bowl of cereal.

"Can we spend a day just us?" She asked suddenly.

"We do spend the day just us."

"No, I mean, out doing something. And not thinking about Sydney or Eddie or any of it."

"We can't go out without your guardians, Jill."

"Just because they're there doesn't mean we have to think about…stuff."

"Okay. I'll take you out and show you Salt Lake City. I'd like to go to the art supply store and get some things." He sat down. "I started working on something and I don't have the right brushes. Or a canvass that's the right size."

"Can I see?"

"Sure."

She ate the last few bites of her cereal and then stood. I led her into the small utility room that I was using for this particular project. The lighting wasn't that great, but I could manage until Jill and the others were back in Pennsylvania.

"So this is what you're doing?" She picked up the picture I'd printed and looked at it. "She's amazing in this."

"She's amazing always."

Jill sent an elbow into my ribs. "Stop being so mushy. You're supposed to be a badass."

"I can be a badass and still be ridiculously in love with my fiancée." I pointed out. "So do you think she'll like it?"

"A picture of herself? You better do a damn good job."

"Have you seen none of my other work?"

She laughed. "It's just that Sydney has so many issues with her body image…"

"I know. But she's working through that. And I want this to help." I took the picture from her. "She doesn't realize how stunning she is without even trying."

She patted my shoulder. "So, about that spending-the-day-together thing…?"

"Get dressed. Wake Leah. We'll go out in a couple hours."


	15. Chapter 15

_Author's note: New chapter, not much to say other than check out what happens in the shower when it switches to Adrian's perspective._ ;)

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Fifteen

My phone buzzed with a text just after lunch. "_Rose will be here in a few days._"

I stared in shock. "_Rose? As in your ex-girlfriend?_" I replied.

"_One and the same. Got a min for call?_"

"_I'll call. Oil change._"

I went through the easy motions of the simple oil change. I checked filters and gauges. When it was done, I drove the car outside and then walked back into the building. I called to my mom, "I need to make a quick call while we're down."

"Go for it." She said, not looking up from the engine she was rebuilding.

I punched in Adrian's number and he answered on the first ring. "I really need a cigarette. And a drink."

"Why is Rose coming?"

"To get Jill. And I think she's expecting to stay the night here."

"You're not driving her back?" I walked into the break room and poured myself a cup of coffee.

"No, we're going to try seeing what will happen when there's a flight between us." He took in a deep breath. "Lissa is sending the private jet. And her most trusted guardian."

"When will she be here?" I sipped my coffee.

"Saturday."

"Hm."

"'Hm' what?"

"Do you think it would be easier if you stayed with me while she's in town?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I just wanted to tell you. As my fiancée, you need to know when my ex will be in my house."

I smiled. "Thank you for your consideration." I took a sip from my coffee. "Do you think you can hold on until I get home?"

"Home?" he asked expectantly.

I chuckled in embarrassment. "To your place, I mean."

"Sure. And just for the record, and it's cheesy as hell, I think you're home. Wherever I am with you is home."

I felt my heart clench. I didn't realize just how much I loved him until he said something so free of sarcasm. "Yeah, that is cheesy. But I like the cheesiness even more than I like the flippancy. I love it, actually."

"I love _you_, Sydney."

Mom stuck her head in the door. "The phone is ringing off the hook and I need your help with some stuff."

"Be right there." I told her. "I'll see you in a few hours, Adrian."

"Okay."

* * *

"I feel like you all think I need babysitters." Jill was complaining when I walked into Adrian's house after work.

"Not babysitters." Adrian argued. "But you are the only adult Dragomir other than Lissa. And you are my bound to me, Jill. I want to make sure you stay safe just as much as your sister does."

"My sister only cares about her title." She looked sideways at Eddie. "Are you going to back me up?"

"Why should I when I agree?" He said softly.

She stood with a groan. "I wish they'd never found me." She stomped out of the room.

"What's going on?" I asked, stepping toward Adrian.

He ran his fingers through his hair and explained, "Lissa is sending, not only Rose, but an entire guard to bring Jill back to Court."

"Not just Rose?"

He shook his head. "I guess it was a last-minute decision." He reached out and touched my cheek. "I think she's just not ready to leave."

"That could be a big part of it."

Eddie slipped out of the room while we talked.

"What's going on with that?" I mumbled, nodding in the direction he went.

"He's been keeping his distance."

I smiled. "And you think that's good?"

"Right." He leaned forward and brushed his lips across mine. "Hi."

"Hi." I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him back for a longer kiss. I murmured against his lips, "I like coming home to you. And I like it even more when there's no extra drama. Just us." I kissed him again.

He pulled me to him, holding me securely to his chest as he took charge of the kiss. He moved his mouth away from mine, across my jaw, and down my neck, nipping lightly at my skin.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair. I let out a sigh.

"On the other hand, I think I'm ready to get out of here so you two can have some privacy." Jill said.

I froze, completely embarrassed.

Adrian just chuckled against my neck and kissed it softly. He lifted his head, but still held on to me. "Completely agree."

Jill laughed. "I think we need to have a family night out. One last hurrah before I have to leave."

"I could go for that." Adrian looked at me, "What do you say?"

"I say I need a shower. But I'm up for it."

"Would you like company?" He asked, nuzzling my neck.

I pushed him away. "No, I would not."

He laughed. "I'll make reservations."

* * *

"I can't believe they didn't pronounce my name right." Adrian said for the fifth time.

"Your name is Ivashkov. Salt Lake folk don't do well with Russian names, sweetheart." I pointed out.

"Are you going to keep your last name, Sydney?" Jill asked, looking up from her menu.

"I hadn't put a whole lot of thought into it." I admitted. "Sydney Ivashkov." I pondered aloud. "Hmm. Interesting."

Adrian looked at me with unabashed male pride. "I like it. I've liked the thought of it from the moment I met you."

"Are you secretly a thirteen year old girl?" Eddie teased.

Adrian laughed. Then he looked at me seriously. "Sydney, there's something I need to tell you." He broke into another laugh.

We all joined in.

I leaned into him, resting my hand on his arm. "If that's the case, then we have to break it off because I don't date teenagers. Or girls."

"What if I _were_ a girl, but the same age I am now, would you reconsider that second one?"

"I don't know…"

"Because that would be so hot."

I slapped his arm at the same time Jill said his name scandalously. The look on her face told me he was having a very vivid thought that she was privy to.

He smiled sheepishly and picked up his menu as the waiter came back to take our order. Adrian turned to me and grasped my hand on top of the table and looked at me like I was the only one in the room.

I leaned over and kissed his cheek. I removed my hand from his and rested it on his knee under the table and turned to the rest of the group.

Adrian pulled my chair closer and draped his arm over my shoulders. He kissed my temple. He played with my hair as Jill went off with whatever tangent she was currently on. Eddie very nonchalantly kept an eye on our surroundings. Leah, on the other hand, looked around like she was paranoid about what would happen next.

"Leah." I said softly.

She turned and looked at me. "Yes?"

"How has this all been?" I moved away from Adrian, squeezing his knee slightly under the table.

"It's been wild. But Eddie has been a big help." She smiled reassuringly and then looked around the room again.

"Good." I smiled back. "I hope this crazy situation has helped in your training."

"Oh, it has." She leaned forward. "Rose was one of the people everyone idolized. Still do. And the chance to work for her in this way…" She trailed off and looked down in embarrassment.

"I'm sure she's proud of the work you've done so far."

Our food arrived and Leah visibly relaxed. She took cues from Eddie and more subtly surveyed the room for the rest of the meal.

"I could really use a cigarette." Adrian said longingly as we walked past a man leaning against the wall outside with a cigarette between his lips.

I sighed and reached into his pocket.

"Well, hello." He said, thrusting his hip toward me.

I wrapped my hands around the pack he kept there. "Then smoke one before we get in my car."

He stared at me for a moment before he took the pack from my hand and shook one out. He kissed me hard before he lit up and blew the smoke away from us. He sighed and leaned against the car.

Jill and Leah followed suit. Eddie paced back and forth, keeping his eyes out. I balled a fist in Adrian's shirt and pressed my eyes into his neck for a moment. I stepped away and moved farther form the stench of Adrian's smoke.

* * *

When we were home and alone in my room, I pulled Sydney to me.

She immediately moved away and made a face. "Please wash that stench off."

I nodded. I needed a few minutes alone anyway. Being in Sydney's presence was a challenge in control. I don't know how she did it. Well, being a girl, it was probably a little easier to hide it when she was aroused. No need to worry about anyone catching the tell-tale signs of arousal.

Of course when she was, her skin flushed and her breathing grew heavier.

God, I was bad at this. How was I going to survive another year of this? Especially when she was waiting in my bed almost every night? Yeah, I was done for.

I leaned against the wall in the shower, letting the cold water splash over me. I tried to think of anything but Sydney, but it was no use. I reached down and wrapped my hand around myself. My mind went to her.

"Sydney." I sighed.

The cool water was suddenly a balm to my warm skin. I grew nearer my release. I closed my eyes tight and imagined what it would be like if _she_ was doing this to me. But I had at least another fifteen months until I figured that one out. If she could resist my charms that long.

I let myself have a minute to relax and regain my composure. Then I stepped back and quickly washed the rest of the cigarette smoke from my body and hair.

Sydney breathed me in deep when I pulled her to me a few minutes later.

"Much better." She sighed.

"Me too."

She looked up at me and studied me for a while.

I kissed her forehead. "We're fine, aren't we?"

"Of course. As long as…"

I kissed her once more. "I think I can do this."

"You think?" she gave me an incredulous look.

I laughed. "I'll keep myself in check."

"If you ever need…I mean, I think I could figure out a way to help."

"No, honey. Not until you're ready."

She nodded and brushed her lips across mine. She rolled onto her back and pulled my arm across her stomach.

I rested my head against hers and felt her body relax step by step. Her breathing slowed and she was asleep. I watched for several hours as Sydney dozed in my arms. She moved away and I felt lost. I moved up behind her and held her close, tighter than before. She wasn't getting away so easily.


	16. Chapter 16

_Author's note: Bridesmaid dress shopping happens in this! I'll make a post on my Tumblr (booksrockmyface) with the dress chosen. I hope you like the one that was ultimately picked. It was a close one. And the next chapter will have more shopping, including looking at tuxes. Let's all say a collective "Unf!" at that thought._

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Sixteen

I could see the muscle working in Adrian's jaw before I saw Rose through the window laughing with Eddie on the couch in the living room. I cupped his cheeks in my hands and brushed a kiss across his lips. He started to relax.

"How was your day?" He asked softly, pulling me to him.

"Long. I helped Mom drop a rebuilt engine into a very beautiful old Buick. That's why I'm so late. We did that this evening."

"Nice." He kissed me softly. "I stayed awake all day, worrying about this evening when everyone woke up."

"And now they all are."

"Yeah. And it's not as bad as it could be." He gave me a forced smile. "I'm over it. I am. It's just…"

"I know. Old wounds heal, but they still hurt when the one who has done the harm is present."

"I mostly worry about how _you_ perceive her." He rubbed my arms.

"I've always liked her. When I found out what she did to you, I was angry for you." I touched his cheek. "But I don't see any reason to hold a grudge against someone who led you to me in the end."

He rested his forehead against mine. "It all comes back to you."

"Of course. You've said so yourself. So let's go in there and hang out and have a good time. Jill has to leave in a few hours."

He stepped back and sighed. "I hope this works."

"Me too." I took his hand and led him into the living room.

* * *

After Jill left with the others for Pennsylvania, Adrian and I went back to his place. He stood in the middle of the living room and looked around for a long time. He seemed lost after a month of so many people in the house.

And Jill was gone. She was part of him. I was close with my sisters, but I was used to being away from them. He wasn't so used to being apart from Jill and I could see the prospect of not getting to see her whenever either of them felt like it was worrisome for him.

I dragged him to bed and held him silently until Jill called to say they were safely home. He fell into a fitful sleep, waking me every few hours when he shifted. I held him and assured him that everything was going to be fine.

* * *

I embraced Adrian tightly. After so many nights sleeping beside him and all the time we had spent together completely alone, I wasn't ready for him to fly to Pennsylvania. I knew he had to go and see Jill. I had been seeing the signs in him that Spirit was bothering him and his phone went off constantly with desperate texts from her.

"Be safe." I said as I finally let him go.

"I will." He kissed me. "I love you. And I'll be back in a few days."

I nodded. "I know. Just something I'm going to have to get used to."

"One of these days, Jill will be able to come to me."

"She will." I pushed myself up on my toes and kissed him. "You better get going. They won't wait forever and there are other flights leaving."

He brushed his fingers down my cheek. "Have fun dress shopping with your sisters."

I grinned. "I really don't want to make this choice without you."

"It's your choice, honey."

I sighed and put my forehead on his shoulder. "I hate when you do that."

"I'm sorry. You know I'm not big on fashion."

"I think the place has a web cam."

"Good."

"Hey, are we leaving or not?" The pilot called from the door.

"Yeah." He brushed another kiss across my lips. "I'll call when I land."

"Okay."

He finally left and I stood on the private tarmac until the plane took off.

Back at my house, I wondered from room to room. I was restless. Eventually, I got back in my car and drove to Adrian's. I climbed in his bed as my phone rang.

"I'm here." He said on the other end.

"Tell Jill hello for me. And all the others."

"I will."

"I'm in your house, by the way." I snuggled into the mattress and breathed in his scent.

"I figured." His warm voice floated through the line. "If Jill didn't need me so badly, I would have waited until you could come with me."

"Yeah. And since this is the only weekend Carly will be free for a while…"

"Are you in bed?"

"Yes."

"I'm almost to Court. Just close your eyes and breathe me in and remember that I'm only a phone call away."

"Okay." I yawned. "I'll send you pictures."

"You could send me pictures now. Of you lying naked in my bed."

"Who said anything about me being naked?" I giggled.

He laughed. "Oh, sorry, that was me wishful thinking. You could still send a picture, though."

"Okay, wait." I took the phone away from my ear and put it on speaker. "Can you still hear me?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I am taking a picture now." I turned the camera on and held the phone away. I was surprised at how well the picture turned out. I'm not very good at taking pictures of myself. "Okay, now I'm sending it."

"Mm, nice. I'll look at it while I fall asleep." He paused. "I'm at Jill's."

"Then I'll let you go."

"Sleep well, love."

I smiled to myself. "I'll try."

I turned out the lamp and curled onto my side. I got a text from Adrian later, "_Jill's better. I'm going to bed. The worst thing about a vampire marrying a human._"

"_Sorry, sweetheart._"

"_No you're not. I can see your evil grin from here._"

"_Whatever you say. Just get some sleep._"

"_You too._"

I rested my phone on the bed beside me with a protective hand on top of it. I fell asleep staring at it, hoping he was okay.

* * *

"Can you get on a computer?" I asked.

"Yeah." Adrian said around a yawn.

"Good. They'll set up a web cam if you want to join us virtually."

"I'd love that. Thanks. I'll wake Jill so she can join too, if you want."

"Don't force her. It's the middle of the day. I bet she's exhausted."

"Probably. Hey, Jill."

I heard her mumble, "What?"

"They're looking at bridesmaid dresses. Want to see?"

"Of course." She said enthusiastically.

"Did you hear that?" He chuckled in to the phone. "I'm heading for the computer now."

"Okay." I said, sitting down to their computer and typing in Adrian's email address. "I'm sending you a link right now."

"And as soon as this damn thing is booted up…" There was a pause on the line and I heard him typing on the keyboard. "Okay, I think we're in. I can see you."

"Great. Okay. So, we've got a few picked out and they're changing into a couple of them. They should be out in any minute."

"What color are you looking for?"

"I think they'll look best in emerald with our beautiful golden hair and eyes." I teased. "Here they come. I'm putting you on speaker."

"Okay."

They stepped up to the podium and I moved to sit beside my mother a few feet away. Both dresses had skirts that brushed the floor. The top of Carly's was similar to my wedding dress with cap sleeves and a shallow V. Zoe's was a single strap. The strap was sheer and beaded.

"I like the one Zoe's wearing." Jill's voice said through the phone.

"I think both of them work." Adrian said.

"I like Zoe's too." Mom said.

My sisters agreed that Zoe's dress was the favorite.

"And what does the bride think?" The consultant asked.

"I agree with everyone else." We all knew that Carly's dress was far too similar to mine. We all exchanged looks to confirm that. "But I don't like it enough to want it to be _it_ just yet."

"Of course you wouldn't make it so easy." Adrian teased through the phone.

"Sit back and relax for a little bit longer." I said, turning and winking into the camera. "We've still got quite a few more."

We nixed the next few. They were too short and strapless and neither of my sisters seemed too comfortable in strapless gowns. A couple had pleats and ruching in awkward places that did nothing for their figures.

And then both Carly and Zoe stepped out wearing one strap gowns. The strap over the shoulder of Zoe's had a fan detail. Carly's strap had flowers and was ruched perfectly over the bust and waist.

"I really like both of those." Adrian said.

"Carly's. Hands down." Jill proclaimed.

"Yeah." I said. "I'm leaning toward the one Carly is wearing too."

Everyone else seemed to agree.

"I still like the one Zoe was wearing first, though." I said uncertainly.

"Let's put her back in the first one, then."

Carly sat down in an empty seat beside me. "This is really comfortable."

"It looks like it. And that's pretty important for dancing all night." I spoke into the phone. "Are you still there?"

"We're here. _I'm_ here. The back of your head is nice, by the way."

I laughed and turned toward the camera. "Good to know. I don't have weird hair happening or anything?"

"No, it's perfect. Like you. Like always."

"I'm far from perfect." I turned back around.

"I know. And your imperfections are what make you perfect."

"Stop it. We're already engaged. There's nothing else you need to butter me up for."

"Oh, there's plenty, baby. And it doesn't involve putting clothes _on_."

"Other people can hear." I snapped as Carly snorted beside me. I felt my cheeks turning red.

My mother was trying to hide her smile.

"Ouch! Okay, Jill punched me for you." Adrian said. "Ow, that stings. Maybe you need to stop working out with Eddie."

"No, definitely not. I like being able to defend myself. Especially from you." She said smugly.

Zoe came back in wearing the first dress and Carly took the spot beside her.

Zoe looked to our older sister. "I think I like hers better."

We all agreed and my sisters were taken away to get their measurements.

"Take me off speaker." Adrian requested.

I did and pressed the phone to my ear. "What's up?"

"I transferred money into your account before I left. It should cover them, but if not, let me know."

I stepped away from the others. "You don't have to do that."

"Of course I do. I said I'd pay for this shindig and I plan on it. Don't forget the shoes."

"Whatever you say, sweetheart." I sighed. "Has Jill got any ideas?"

"We discussed that last night. We'll go with brown since you've got the green covered. Jill likes strapless. She has a store in mind that she's visited and tried on a couple. They've got a men's section, too, so I'm going to check that out."

"Let me know something. Carly and Zoe are excited. Well, Carly is. Zoe's still apprehensive."

"That's understandable." I could hear him yawn. "Jill came over and kept me up all night. Well, not that it's her fault. I could have slept. But once I healed her, she was kind of giddy and it rubbed off."

"I'll let you go, then."

"I love you, Sydney."

"I love you, too." I sighed. "Go to sleep. And send me pictures if you and Jill go shopping."

"Will do."

I rejoined my family. "Are we set? Other than the bill?"

"Yes, I think so." The consultant said. "Follow me."


	17. Chapter 17

_Author's note: Well, Adrian has a tux. If you're a fan of Darren Criss, you have seen the shoot he did for GQ and all the numerous suits he wore and looked amazing! I reblogged a photoset on my Tumblr (booksrockmyface) of it them with the one I picture him wearing. I also posted a picture of Jill's dress I found on the David's Bridal website. It's so her, I think. So pop on over and see for yourself and let me know._

_Rose and Lissa make an appearance in this chapter, as well as Lissa's adorable daughter Andrea. I also failed to mention in the times it was said before that the wedding date of October 8th wasn't entirely a random number. That's my dad's birthday. And though he probably won't ever read this, I felt like honoring him anyway.  
_

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Seventeen

"So the wedding is when?" Rose asked.

"A year from October." I said, bouncing Andrea on my knee. "Maybe this one can be our flower girl."

She giggled at me.

"I think she'd like that." Lissa said from beside me.

"And the one in there can do something too." I pointed to her bulbous stomach. "If Mommy and Daddy want him to, that is."

"He's not going to be very old. Probably barely crawling. He'll just sit on my lap and watch everything. But I thank you."

"Any time." I made a face at the baby on my lap and she laughed at me again. "She is just so cute."

"Isn't she? She looks more and more like her daddy every day." She smoothed her hand over her daughter's hair.

"Where is he, by the way?"

"Training. Both with his element and a little hand-to-hand combat. He's come a long way in the last few years."

"Is that where your guy is, too?" I asked Rose awkwardly.

"Yes." She smiled. "Jealous?"

"No. Why would I be? I don't have to know how to kick ass for someone to find me attractive." I took my phone out of my pocket. "Case in point." I showed off the picture Sydney sent me of her in my bed. "Amazingly beautiful and completely hot for me."

"Are you sure this is a picture you're supposed to be showing off?" Rose asked, giving me a hard, teasing look.

"It's fine. I've got more racy pictures of her on my camera. But not going to show anyone those."

"Naked?" Her voice was full of admiration.

"As model for a painting." I explained. "Nothing sexual. Well, she was giving me some bedroom eyes at one point, but I can't act on that just yet."

"Wait, run that by me again? You're not having sex?"

"Is there something about Sydney that that screams she'd just jump in the sack with anyone?"

"But you're engaged." She pointed out.

"Yes. And?"

"How do you stand it?"

I laughed. "I just do." I kissed Andrea's chubby cheek and handed her to Lissa. "I need to go. Jill and I are going shopping. And I've kept all of you up past your bedtime."

"Shopping?" Lissa and Rose said at the same time.

"She has to get a dress and she wants me to look at tuxes."

They looked at me expectantly.

"Would you like to come?"

"Yes, please!" Lissa said. "I'll have to gather my guard. As long as it's okay. I guess we should probably make sure Jill is okay with it."

"You have a lot of meetings tomorrow. You need your rest." Rose pointed out.

"Oh. Right." She sat back and thought for a while. "I've been working non-stop for months. I'm due for a bit of a break. And helping my sister find her dress for her best friend's wedding is equally as important as all these other matters. Rose, tell my assistant to move things around. Jill needs the guard anyway." She took out her cell and tapped on the screen. She pressed it to her ear. "Hello, Jill…Oh. Well, I should have known that…You don't mind do you?…" Her face was scrunched up in concern and then it softened. "Good, I'm glad. I didn't want to just invite myself…Well, thank you…Should be ready in about a half hour…Okay, see you then."

"All set?" I asked.

"On that side anyway. She was watching."

"Hey, it happens." Rose said with a grin. "All your meetings from earlier in the night will be moved to the next day. Any that can be shifted into later evening will be. And Christian is on his way in."

The door opened then and the man in question stepped in. "My ladies." He walked over to Lissa and wrapped her in a tight hug, one hand rested on her pregnant belly. "You're assistant said you're leaving."

"Dress shopping with Jill."

"And Andrea and I are staying?"

"Well, Andrea is. You don't have to."

"Let me think about that. Putting my daughter to bed and taking a well-deserved day of sleep myself or forgoing sleep and sitting in a dress shop all day? I think I choose the first." He kissed her hard on the mouth. "Have fun. Don't overdo it."

"I won't."

I watched with jealousy as the two smooched and whispered to each other for a while longer. I missed Sydney. And I wanted to know what it would be like to see her like Lissa was now. My phone rang, bringing me out of my daydream.

"Sorry, Jill." I said before she could berate me.

"Sydney's not going to have kids with you any time soon. She told me that. You have a long time before she lets you see her like that."

"Wait, she told you she wanted kids?"

"Forget I said that." She said quickly.

"No, no, no. She talked to you about this?"

She let out a huge sigh. "She did. And she said she didn't want to talk about it with you because she knew if you really talked about it, you'd make her set up a timeline. And she wants to do it when it feels right. Don't push her. Give her space. And forget I ever mentioned the conversation with you because I promised I wouldn't."

"Okay, fine. And it would be really great if you would stop sneaking into my head."

"I was just trying to check on everyone's progress. Tell Lissa and Rose to stop making out with their significant others if they want to go shopping."

"Rose isn't—" I cut myself off when I noticed something Jill had caught as I scanned the room: Rose and Dimitri standing as close as Lissa and Christian on the other side of the room. "I'll hurry them along. Head over this way."

"I am. Eddie just appeared at my door. Hi, Eddie."

I hurried everyone along and we were all headed out the door and into a fleet of special vans within minutes.

Jill scooted in next to Eddie in front of me and I leaned up to greet them. That's when I saw their fingers curled together in the seat between them. I cleared my throat and Jill simply smiled over her shoulder. Eddie jerked his hand away to rest on his lap. Jill's face fell.

I reached over the seat and took his hand and put it back on the seat between them. Jill gave me a grateful smile. Eddie nervously looked down between them. Jill curled their fingers together again.

"Hey, Eddie, I have a question." I said as I leaned close.

He turned his nervous look toward me. "What?"

I mumbled, "Do you think you could keep your eyes on the important festivities if you were a groomsman?"

"Y-yes, I think so."

"Good." I clapped him on the shoulder. "You get to try on a monkey suit today too."

He relaxed. "Thanks."

Those that had been prepared to go to bed about this time were nodding off. Most of the guard were daytime guardians, so they were alert. Eddie and Leah were already planning on going on this trip so they were prepared.

As soon as we walked through the doors of the bridal salon, the woman behind the counter rushed over. "Jill! I'm so glad you've arrived. And right on time." She looked over her shoulder. "And with your usual entourage." She looked to Adrian. "You're new."

"This is my brother, Adrian. He's the one who's getting married."

She held out her hand. "Right. Hello, Adrian. We have everything set up for you after your sister has picked out her dress."

"This is my sister, Lissa." Jill introduced almost as an afterthought.

"Hello, nice to meet you." She said in greeting, shaking the queen's hand.

We all followed the consultant. Guardians dropped off at random points. Eddie, Rose, and Leah were the only ones who followed us onto the floor. Jill disappeared into a dressing room.

She stepped out in a dress that stopped at her knees.  
"Turn around right now." I demanded. "That one is a no."

"What? Don't you like it?" She asked, stepping up onto the podium. She turned and examined it in the mirror.

"I do. But not for my wedding. You have legs that go on forever and that's all the guests are going to be looking at when they should be looking at Sydney."

She sighed and walked away without asking what anyone else thought.

"Was I too harsh?" I asked the others.

They shook their heads.

Eddie said, "She did look good, but it's for a school dance or something. Not a wedding. At least not _your_ wedding."

Jill emerged in another dress. This one was at least longer. But it had a slit up the side.

"Hmm." I said.

"You don't like this one either." She said, discouraged.

"I do. I'm trying to decide how much."

"I like the sweetheart neckline." Rose contributed.

"Me too." Lissa said. "Is it going to be that plum color?"

"No, amber. Golden brown." Jill said, twisting and turning in the mirror. "Isn't that what was decided, Adrian?"

"Yes. Sydney's bridal party has the emerald covered."

"Your colors are emerald and amber?" Lissa asked.

"Yes. My eyes and hers. My fiancée's idea. We're being a little romantic." I examined the dress as she turned some more. "I like this, but I'm worried about the slit. And it's a little stiff compared to Zoe and Carly's."

"I get your point." She chewed the inside of her cheek. "Can this still be a maybe?"

I smiled. "Sure. Why not?"

Her face split into a grin and she stepped down and to head back into the dressing room.

"Hey, wait, can I take a picture of that for my fiancée to see?"

The consultant nodded. "Yes. That's fine. I've been trying to get them to get a web cam in here. All the other shops have them, but we don't yet." She sighed. "Anyway, go ahead."

Jill, laughing, struck a pose and I snapped a picture. I sent it to Sydney as Jill walked away.

"She worships the ground you walk on." Lissa commented.

"I know she does. The best little sister a guy could have."

Lissa looked down and rubbed her stomach. "I need to keep trying."

I reached out and put a hand on her arm. "She knows you are. And she also knows you're busy. It's okay."

She nodded and patted my hand.

"I could start to move some things around. Spend more time with her."

"She'll like that."

My phone went off with a message from Sydney. "_That's pretty._"

"_That's all you've got to say?_"

"_I don't like it that much._"

"_I don't really either. She's changing. New one in a minute._"

As I sent off the last text, Jill stepped out. This dress had a similar neckline to the last one. It was satin and hugged her figure, flaring out at the bottom. There was an odd ruffle on the side. It was cute.

I nodded, "I like it."

"Really?" She gushed. "Because I just love it."

"Really. It's very much you."

"That's gorgeous." Lissa said.

"Yeah." Rose agreed. "It's cute."

I looked over to Eddie. I figured what he wanted to say by the lustful look on his face. I smiled.

"You look hot in this one, Jill." I said for him. "But I still wonder how well it will go with the others."

"Yeah, true." She chewed her lip again. "Take a picture for Sydney. I have one more."

I sent the picture to Sydney. Her response didn't come until Jill came out again.

"_The skirt has the same flow. She needs to be a little different, though. I like it._"

"This one is made from the same material as the bridesmaid dresses." Jill said as she stepped on the podium wearing a dress that was very much like the ones that had been chosen for Sydney's sisters, minus the strap.

I sat back and waited for everyone else's opinion.

"It's pretty." Leah said, speaking for the first time.

"Yeah, but the other one is better on you." Eddie pointed out.

"I like this one better." Lissa said.

"I think it's a toss-up." Rose contributed. "They both have good points."

Everyone was silent. They turned to me.

"Adrian?" Jill asked.

"You like the other one better, don't you?" I said.

"Yes. What does Sydney say?"

"She liked it. She said something about the flow of the skirt being the same."

"It's true. Send her a picture of this just to be sure and we can go look at the stuff I picked out for you."

"You already picked stuff out for me?" I held up my phone. "You are such a fashion nerd." I sent the picture to Sydney as Jill went off to change into her regular clothes.

"_That's almost exactly like my sisters' dress. I think I like the last one better. But she has to wear it and represent you. You're choice._"

"_She's in love with the other one. I think that's it._"

"_Good_."

"_Going to get a suit on. And I'm not sending you pictures. No one is. You're going to be surprised like I am about your dress._"

"_That works for me._"

"That other one, Jill." I said as she walked out.

"Huh?"

"The one you like. It's yours. Order it. I'll buy it."

She squealed and threw her arms around me. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She kissed my cheek. "You're the best."

I chuckled and squeezed her. "You're pretty great yourself, Jailbait."

She laughed and let go of me. "They have all my measurements. We'll finish up the paperwork later." She grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the other end of the store. "Okay, so I have some ideas. I see something sleek and modern and sexy. Something that will go well with Sydney's dress, which is very sleek and modern and sexy, but also classic. We'll start with this."

She handed over a pair of black pants with a bit of a shine to them. She also gave me a white shirt. "Do I need certain underwear for this?" I teased as I went into the dressing room. "Pick something out for your boyfriend, too." I laughed at the blush that crawled up her cheeks. I shut the door and changed into the clothes she picked out for me.

I stepped out and was met by a tailor with an amber bow tie and vest. "Do you know how to tie one of these?"

"No, actually."

He gave me a tutorial on tying a bow tie and made me do it myself. "Not so bad." He stepped up and fixed it. "I suggest you get one and practice often."

I put on the vest and then he put the coat on. The material had the same sheen as the pants. The lapel was thin and had a trim in a brighter shimmer.

"Hot." Rose said appreciatively.

"Thinking about what you're missing?" I asked smugly, looking in the mirror.

"I know what I'm missing. And you really have nothing I want personally. But Sydney is a very lucky woman."

"I thought this one would work best." Jill said, walking over as Eddie disappeared into the dressing room. She smoothed the front and arms of the coat down. "Especially now that I have mine. The material is the same, with the shimmer. And we can have this trim changed to the amber, if you want." She handed over a pair of shoes. "You don't need to try on anything else. I'm making an executive decision."

I laughed. "I think I like the trim as is. You have nothing else?"

"Do you really want to try on more clothes?"

"I don't know. All of you girls are drooling over me. I live for that." I smiled at the group.

She giggled. "You do look pretty amazing. Sydney is going to die."

"No pictures. I want her to be surprised." I looked in the mirror. "I do like this. I look good. What else do you have?"

She brought me over to a rack of clothes and showed them to me. None of them appealed to me in the way the one I wore looked.

"You're right. None of these compare. Give me those shoes." She handed them over.

Eddie stepped out of the dressing room. He was wearing the same style suit as me, but his was mat and the long tie he wore was tucked under the vest.

"I wish your dress was in the right color. We could all stand together and get a feel."

"We can still get a bit of a feel. Go stand next to Eddie." Jill commanded. "Wow, it's the Hot Twins." She said admiringly. "Tell me I'm good."

"You're good." Lissa said, wrapping an arm around her waist.

She smiled at her sister and then gave her a hug. "Thank you."

"You're going to be amazing when you do this professionally. And if you tell me you don't want that, then I'll tell you that you're insane for wanting anything different."

"I agree." I said, rushing to her and grabbing her up. I spun her around. "You are the greatest, little sister." I laughed and put her down. I grabbed her shoulders. "Jill, I'm getting married."

"You've still got a little over a year."

"Yeah, but I'm getting married."

She smiled. "Congratulations."

I laughed again. "Let's get this all sorted out." I stepped away and turned to the tailor. "Measure me, sir."


	18. Chapter 18

_Author's note: This chapter is kind of a short one. And there's a bit that may seem a little OOC, but it felt right. Please don't hate me for it. I hope you like the rest of this. Please review and let me know._

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Eighteen

I anxiously awaited Adrian's plane's arrival. They had been delayed in Pennsylvania due to bad weather. He had told me to just wait in the car and he'd meet me. I dozed behind the wheel. It had been such a long day and all I wanted was to just curl up with my fiancé and sleep until Monday.

Then I saw him walking toward me. I stepped out and he quickened his pace. He dropped his bag and his arms came around me. He held me to his chest in a crushing embrace.

"God, I missed you so much, Sydney." He said just before his lips closed over mine.

I opened my mouth for him and he slipped his tongue along with mine. He moaned and moved his mouth away from mine and kissed across my jaw.

"I missed you too." I sighed.

The fingers of one hand tangled in my hair as the other continued to hold me close.

I slid my hands down his back. I rested them on his bottom.

He chuckled and raised his head. He rested his forehead against mine. "Your hands are on my ass."

"They are." I said softly, brushing my lips across his. I slipped my hands up the back of his shirt and rested my palms on his back. "Your place or mine?"

"Yours. I like your bed."

"Even though it's in a small room?"

"Yes. Even then."

"My car's at your place."

"You can drive me back home tomorrow morning before you go to work and I'll get it back to you."

"I don't work tomorrow. I already took off. We have a three day weekend." I kissed him and dropped my arms. "Let's get going."

He picked up his bag and walked around to the passenger side. "You're still driving, right?"

"Of course. Unless you want to."

He shook his head and opened the door. "Might as well be your car." He threw his bag in the back before sitting down.

I leaned over the center of the car and kissed him before I turned the engine over and headed down the road.

* * *

Adrian spent a long time in the bathroom. I knew what he must have been doing in there. After almost a week of being surrounded by loving couples, coming back to me and no sexual contact had to be difficult.

He climbed into bed with me, his arm draped over my waist. "Hi."

I smiled. "Hi. Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Good." I watched him for a while before turning toward him. "In two months we discuss it again."

"I thought we decided on it already." He brushed hair away from my face.

"I want you just as badly as you want me." I pointed out.

"But are you sure you're ready?"

"I don't know." I admitted softly.

"Like you said, we still have two months. We'll talk about it then." He kissed me softly. "You need to get some sleep."

"I already took the day off. I can sleep in."

"But you must be exhausted after working all week."

"I am." I yawned unexpectedly.

"For God's sake, go to sleep." He smiled. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere for a while."

I yawned again. "I really like it when you smile like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're not hiding anything, including your fangs." I reached out and spread his lips. "I used to be so scared of them."

He closed his lips around my finger. He opened his mouth and took my finger inside it, swirling his tongue around it. He scraped his fang along my finger as he removed it. "I could compel you, you know."

"Yeah, you could. But you would feel just as guilty about doing it like that as I would about having sex before the time was right. We'd end up hating each other. Hating ourselves. That's not anything to build a marriage on."

He kissed the tip of my nose. "I know. And I know when I use Spirit it freaks you out. So I won't ever use it on you. I promise."

"Unless my life depends on it?"

"Right." He nodded. He brushed his lips across mine. "Roll over."

I did as he requested. I slipped my hand under the pillow and curled my fingers into his. I threaded the fingers of my other hand into his and he pulled me close.

"I love you." He whispered into my hair.

"I love you, too."

I slowly drifted off to sleep to the gentle movement of his chest against my back.

* * *

I woke up cold and discovered the blanket was no longer over me. I looked around. Adrian was curled on the other side of the bed with the blanket cocooned around him.

"Hey." I croaked, tugging on the end of it. "Give me that back."

He grumbled and batted at my hand.

"Adrian, come on." I pulled harder. "Don't be a blanket hog."

He opened an eye and gave me a disgruntled glare. "What?"

"Give me some of the damn blanket."

"Oh. Sorry." He untangled himself and pulled me into his side. "I'll warm you back up."

I sighed and melted into his side. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He yawned. "I was just having this really lovely dream where I was playing with an adorable little baby. He had chubby cheeks and beautiful amber eyes. You called him a name and I don't remember now what it was." He kissed my forehead.

"A baby, huh?"

"I know we decided it wasn't something up for negotiation any time soon, but I can't help that I want it."

"I'm not saying I don't ever want babies with you, but I can't… You know why I don't want kids."

"I do. And I'm not going to push you, honey. I just want you to see my side of it."

"I do see it."

"I was just a dream." He closed his eyes. "Just some silly dream."

"It's not silly. I just want to be your wife for a while before we even discuss the pros and cons of having a baby with all our issues."

"They're not issues—"

"But they are. For me."

He combed his fingers through my hair. "We'll talk about it at a later date."

"All right." I snuggled closer.

"Where would you like to go for our honeymoon?"

"Somewhere I won't feel guilty for wanting to stay in bed all the time."

He laughed. "What do you say to somewhere sunny? A beach?"

"And what about you?"

"I'll taste the sun on your skin when I kiss you all over." He kissed my forehead and continued to move his fingertips over my skin. "There are beaches that can be used at night, too."

"So pick somewhere. I'll go with you all over the world, Adrian." I kissed his jaw. "How's that painting coming along?"

"It's going well. Did you peek when you were at my house?"

"No, I'm better than that. I was tempted. But I've got plenty of temptations I'm foregoing. What's one more?"

He chuckled and flipped me onto my back. He leaned down and kissed me softly. "I love you."

"And I love you." I pulled him in for another kiss.

He pressed a kiss to my neck. He moved his mouth back to mine slowly, scraping a fang on my jaw.

I took in a shuddering breath and tangled my fingers in his hair. "Bite me." I begged suddenly.

He raised his head and looked down at me in concern. "Are you sure?"

"I-I think so."

"Sydney—"

"But not on my neck. Can you do it somewhere else?"

"I can heal you—"

"No. I'm already risking my conscience enough."

"Okay. Are you sure?" He asked again.

"Y-yes." I stammered and swallowed. "Where are you going to do it?"

"You have to trust me."

"I do."

He pressed a soft kiss to my lips. "One more chance to change your mind."

"I won't change it."

He pulled the blanket away and lowered himself down my body, kissing every few inches on top of my clothes.

He lifted my leg and indicated a spot on my thigh. "Here. Is that okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

He pressed a kiss to my skin and breathed me in. "This will hurt at first." He opened his mouth and closed it on my thigh, breaking the skin with his sharp fangs.

I cried out in the initial pain, but then melted as the enzymes in his saliva flooded into my veins. It was delicious. No wonder people got addicted to this. I know I could. I felt myself floating, falling. It was glorious. I never wanted it to end.

And then it did. All too soon. My eyes were cloudy as I watched Adrian lift his mouth from my leg. He lapped up the blood that still leaked from the puncture wounds.

He made his way back up my body and looked down at me. "How do you feel?"

"I'm trying to figure it out." I whispered.

He kissed me softly.

"I don't think that can ever happen again."

"I know." He brushed hair from my face. "I didn't take a lot. But if you're feeling a little woozy, you should drink a soda. Not a diet either, but a real honest-to-god sugar-filled soda. There should be one or two in your fridge."

I felt myself nod. I was suddenly exhausted. "That was great." I fell asleep within seconds.

* * *

I didn't want to. Not completely. The thought of sampling Sydney's blood was always so intriguing to me, but I never asked. I knew she would feel obligated and then guilty.

I could see in her eyes as she fell asleep that she was starting to feel the pangs of it. She fell asleep beside me. I stayed awake and watched her. I ran my fingers over her smooth skin. I hoped that I could convey my love to her through the touch.

Her brow furrowed. She rolled into me and clutched at my shirt. "Adrian." She whimpered.

"Sh." I rubbed her back. "I've got you."

"Don't let me go." She begged.

"I won't, baby. I won't."

After a little more soothing, she relaxed. I relaxed myself and rested my forehead against hers.

I didn't sleep well. Every time Sydney so much as twitched, I woke up. She kept her arms securely around me the rest of the night.


	19. Chapter 19

_Author's note: I hope this chapter finds you well. It's a little more serious than the previous chapters. And Rose makes a big appearance here._

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Nineteen

I got out of bed as soon as the sun was up. I made myself a cup of coffee and curled up in my favorite chair. I watched the bedroom. Adrian might sleep all day. I didn't know when he went to sleep. But I couldn't stand to be in the house with him. If he didn't wake up soon, I was going to have to just get out.

"Sydney?" He called softly.

I remained silent.

He stepped into the living room and watched me for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"Get dressed. Take me to my car."

"Sydney—"

"Please just do as I say. I want to be alone today."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Sydney."

"I need to be alone, Adrian."

He watched me for a little longer and then nodded. He walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He emerged a minute later and headed toward the door without a word.

I picked up my keys from the hook by the door and locked up.

Adrian stood against the side of his car smoking. He blew smoke out the side of his mouth. "You have nothing to feel guilty about." He flicked his ashes away.

"I shouldn't. I asked for it. But I do. And I need a day alone to compose myself."

"Okay. Fine." He lifted his foot and scraped the end of his cigarette out. He put the stub behind his ear and climbed into the car.

I got into the passenger seat and turned toward the window. We rode along in silence. I saw Adrian cut his eyes toward me several times. I didn't want to talk. I couldn't. All I wanted to do was go home and be alone so I could fall apart.

I got out of Adrian's car and right into mine. He hurried over and knocked on the window. I rolled it down reluctantly.

"Don't do anything stupid, Sydney. Please? Call me or your mom or _someone._ Don't wallow in this."

"My mother wouldn't understand and neither would you. Not really." I took a deep breath. "I'll call you tomorrow."

I drove home in a daze. I poured myself another cup of coffee and curled back into my chair. I stared at the wall as the light changed through the day. I was numb. I kept playing the night's events over and over in my head. As the sun dipped toward the horizon, I came back to myself.

"What have I done?" I looked around my house, lost.

I found my phone and looked at it. Who could I call? Who would understand?

And then it came to me: Rose.

She answered in the middle of the third ring. "Sydney? Is everything okay?"

"I don't know." I said uncertainly. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, I'm off today. I've got plans to watch Andrea later… What's going on?"

"I, uh, never thought I'd need…" I felt a sob creeping up my throat. "I let Adrian feed from me." I admitted in a strangled whisper. "And I didn't know who else to call."

"Oh, Sydney." She said softly. "Now you feel guilty?"

"Yes. Useless. Dirty."

"But you're not. I felt the same way when I got back from running with Lissa. I was her only option. And I felt dirty, too. I felt like everyone watching me was judging me for it. But I think the ones who understood the reason why we did it, didn't think so. She couldn't get to a feeder so easily when we were in hiding."

"What about when you and Adrian…?"

She said gently, "I never felt wrong for it. I understand why you did. You didn't do anything wrong, Sydney. You love him. He loves you. This was a way to be intimate without _actually_ having sex. And I know that's something you and Adrian were holding off on. He told me."

"I still feel so bad about it."

"I'll tell you what you're going to do, Sydney. You're going to get off this phone. You're going to take a long soak in a hot bath or a really long shower and let all the guilt melt away. Wash it down the drain. You did nothing wrong. Neither did Adrian. Then you're going to call your fiancé and tell him you love him and how happy you are that you're marrying him. And you'll go on with your life because you are the kind of woman that does."

"Thank you for the pep talk."

"Any time."

I sighed. "I don't know what came over me."

"I know that feeling. He has that ability to just look at him and want to do _everything_ with him. If we hadn't gotten our wits about us in time, there is a chance I could have a little Adrian running around."

"He wants one."

"And you don't?" She asked gently.

"Did you like being shipped off? Being forced to learn to fight for the possibility that you would die defending people who mostly only use you and yours for that purpose?"

"I would have liked it better if my mother didn't act like she resented me."

"I'm sure that's not the case."

"No, I know it's not. But this is my life. I'm a Dhampir, born of a Moroi and a Dhampir union. My mother is active. There was no other option for me. There is for you. You can keep your kids at home. You're a human. You don't have to be part of this life any more than your husband visiting a feeder once a week and contact with Jill. That's it."

"I still worry…Your numbers are down."

"We'll build them up on our own. It'll be fine. What's one or two? Really?" She chuckled, "Don't let Dimitri know I said that, though."

I laughed, "I won't." I took a deep breath. "I'll let you go. I know playing with Andrea is probably more exciting that talking to me."

"No, it's fine. I always liked you, Sydney." She paused. "I'm glad he's with you. I was a bitch about everything. He deserved way better and he found it in you."

"Your approval…It means a lot."

"You don't need my approval. You never did. I just need to apologize. I hurt him and…I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to deal with it."

"Not nearly as much as Jill."

"No. And I think she and I are okay on that front. We get each other."

"I bet that's hard. I mean, you had no one, you just had to deal with it for the longest time."

"Yeah, it was hard. Kind of glad it's over. Mostly. Sometimes I miss it."

"I understand."

"You ever miss being an Alchemist?"

I thought about it a moment. "I miss seeing my dad. But I don't miss the way he always judged me."

"He still judges you now, from what I understand."

"He does. But now I have Adrian and a life I like much better. I'm doing something I enjoy and planning a wedding to a man who loves me for who I am, warts and all."

Rose laughed.

"I'm glad I met you, Rose. I don't know if any of this would have been possible without you."

"What do you mean?"

"You're strong. You do what you want. You didn't sit back and just let Dimitri go. You went after him to fulfill a promise you both made to each other. You have determination that I never had before. And I respect you for it. I'm glad you didn't just stick with Adrian. If you had, I'd still be an Alchemist, starving myself of food and what is right. Just going along. And I'd still be scared of all of you. So, thank you, Rose. You'll never know the full impact you've had on my life."

There was silence on the line for a few seconds. I thought I'd lost her, but then she said, "I'm glad I could do that for you, Sydney."

My phone beeped with another call. "I'll let you go. You have a whole day off ahead of you and I'm sitting here ruining it."

"It's not ruined. Knowing I've mended some fences actually makes it better. If you ever need anything again, don't hesitate to call."

"Thanks. I won't."

I clicked over as soon as Rose hung up. I didn't check the collar ID. I knew it was Jill.

"Adrian won't answer my calls." She said without preamble. "He just sends a text telling me to leave him alone." She complained.

"Jill, if he doesn't want to talk, I can't make him. He's not here anyway." I went into the bathroom and turned on the water as hot as it would go.

"I know he's not there. That's the only thing he'll let me see. He's blocking me. Is everything okay?"

"It will be. Don't worry."

"Sydney, he's so depressed. He hasn't felt this way since Rose."

"I'll call him, okay? Don't worry. We just hit a rough patch. You can still feel him, right?"

She paused. "Yes."

"So everything is fine. I'll call him and work this out. I promise."

"Thank you." She sighed, "He thought you were one step closer, now you're about ten steps back."

"Jill what do you know?"

"I know…that you and he got a little hot and heavy…but that's all I got. I blocked it. I got the emotion, though. It was so high, it leaked through the bond despite the block I put up. But then it was over."

I sighed in relief. "I'll call him. I'll make it right, Jill."

"Thank you."

I sent a text to Adrian. "_I'll call in an hour. Or you can come by. Your choice. Just give me an hour._"

I set my phone down on the sink and undressed, sliding into the steaming water slowly. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. "Lovely." I let it all melt away, just like Rose had suggested.

* * *

There was a knock on the front door. Adrian called, "Sydney, I'm coming in."

"Okay." I called from the bathroom. I pulled a fluffy robe on and walked out to meet him.

We stood several feet apart.

"I'm sorry." He said the same time I said, "I had a talk with Rose."

He gave me an odd look. "Rose?"

"I realized she was the only one who would understand."

"Oh."

I took a step forward. "Jill is worried about you."

"I know she is. I talked to her after I got your text." He swallowed. "I didn't mean to take advantage."

"You didn't. I asked for you to do it." I took another step toward him. "I love you, Adrian. I don't ever want you to forget that."

He closed the rest of the space between us and cupped my cheeks. "And I love you. So much."

I pressed myself up on my toes and kissed him. "Give me a couple minutes to get dressed. Then we'll talk some more."

"Why do you have to get dressed?" He slid his hand under the robe and touched my side, his thumb resting just under my breast.

"After last night, _that_ is not happening for a while." I stepped away and quickly disappeared into my bedroom.

Adrian called through the door, "Can I please come in? I know what you look like naked."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." I quickly dressed.

He paused and I imagined him brushing his hand against the door. "I missed you today, Sydney."

"I'm sorry." I stepped out, pulling my shirt on over my head. "I missed you, too."

He pulled me into his arms and gave me a crushing kiss. "I love you. I love you so much. Last night—"

"It was great, but it's not happening again. Do you understand?"

"I understand." He picked me up and carried me to the couch.

"I love you, Adrian." I kissed him as I curled up on his lap. "Just hold me."

"I can do that." He reclined on the couch and pulled me on top of him. He combed his fingers through my hair. "Have you eaten today?"

"No." I admitted ashamedly.

"I'll order pizza." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and punched in the number for the place we usually order from. "It will be here in a half hour. So do you want to talk?"

"No, I want to just lay here for a while with you."

"That's fine. I can deal with that." He combed his fingers through my hair and smoothed his hand over my back. "I love you. You told me not to forget it and I don't want you to forget it either, Sydney. You're so important to me."

"Me too, sweetheart." I sighed, pressing my eyes into his shoulder. I felt a sob escape me.

"Hey, shh. It's okay."

"I feel like there's a stain on my soul."

"I do too." He kissed the top of my head. "I'm sorry, Sydney." He breathed. "I'm so sorry. I should have known better. I shouldn't have done it, but I was just so…" He took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry."

I breathed him in for a long time. "You don't need to apologize. And neither do I. We were just meeting our needs as best we could."

"We'll move past it." He kissed the top of my head.

"We will."


	20. Chapter 20

_Author's note: Perhaps should read this one with a cool drink. Or a fan. Or conclude it with a cold shower. In other words, things heat up!_

_Happy reading!  
_

Chapter Twenty

"So what's the next step on the wedding planning list?" Adrian asked as he watched me wash dishes.

"Guest list. I only have four people to invite. How many do you think you'll want to attend?"

"Well, I don't want it to be giant. And I don't want your mom and sisters to feel too outnumbered."

"Yeah, true."

He walked over and kissed my cheek. "Leave the pots. I'll wash them later."

"You sure?"

"I am. Let's go put on a movie and make out."

I chuckled and flicked water at him. "You just want in my pants."

"That's never been a secret." He wiped his face. "So what do you say?"

"I say that I will do that _after_ we have the guest list finalized."

He groaned. "Let me get my computer." He stole a quick kiss and then left the room. "So, your mom and sisters." He said as he sat down and opened his laptop.

"Yes. And I want to invite Ms. Terwiliger. She may not come, but I want to show her the courtesy. And Clarence. He's not always all there, but at least he's a good guy."

"Okay." He typed quickly and I sat down beside him. "And Jill and Eddie are in my wedding party." He typed some more.

"Your father?" I asked when I saw him put down the name.

"I want to at least try to get him there. He can shut me out, but I want to show him that I won't ever do the same to him."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed his cheek. He continued to put down names.

"Most of these names are out of courtesy. We don't have to actually invite them. But since the church will need to be full of guardians anyway, might as well make _those_ people feel welcome, right?"

"A lot of those names you've put down are royals."

"Like I said, they don't have to actually be invited."

"I'd rather not start a war."

"I'm marrying a former Alchemist. They probably won't come anyway." He went back and deleted several names. He scrolled down the screen. "So…twenty-five people? When it's all said and done? That's a good number, right?"

"Yeah, a very good number. Do we know for sure who the guardians are going to be?"

"A lot of these people are the usual entourage when Lissa ventures away from Court. I'll get the names finalized." He took out a phone and sent a text. "As long as you want to invite them?"

"We could send them specialized invitations. 'You are given the honor of attending our wedding while you make sure the queen and her family are safe.'" I chuckled.

He smiled. "Yeah, I like that actually." His phone went off. "Lissa will send a list of all the guardians she normally uses. And an updated list closer to the wedding if there is any change."

"Good." I pressed a kiss to his cheek. "So now that we have _that_ settled…"

A grin broke across his face and he pulled me onto his lap.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and brushed my lips across his. He brought a hand up to cup the back of my head as he took over the kiss. I kept my lips closed. I didn't want to tempt him in any way. I knew he was tempted enough already because I was. In all the weeks since the feeding experience, I had kept my distance. I even tried to spend a few more nights at my place or send him home if he had spent the evening with me.

But my wanting of him had only increased. I pulled away. "Want to revisit the sex discussion?"

He smiled. "I thought we already agreed."

I rested my forehead on his. "We did. I just want to make sure you are still okay with it."

"I'm not. But I want to wait. At least a little bit longer. There's no rush, Sydney. We have the rest of our lives together."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

He kissed me, taking my bottom lip between his teeth for a moment. "I love you."

"You say that a lot."

"Because I don't think either if us heard it enough growing up. I want to say it as much as I can now. I love you, Sydney."

"I love you, too, Adrian." I kissed him and then stood. "Let's go get a bit more comfortable."

"I like your way of thinking." He grabbed me around the waist and backed me up against the counter.

"This isn't really what I had in mind. Not so comfortable." I pressed my mouth to his neck, sucking gently.

He moaned.

I lifted my head. "You like that, huh?"

"Yeah." He cleared his throat. "I may have to reconsider my position on the sex thing."

I chuckled. "We'll revisit it in four months."

He nodded and swallowed. He stepped away. "Go find a movie and I will be right with you." He hurried out of the room and shut himself in the bathroom.

I sighed. Did he realize he had the same effect on me?

* * *

"How long do you get off for Christmas?" Adrian asked as he rubbed my feet.

"Hm?" I looked up from my book. "Oh, um, just Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Why?"

"Lissa invited us to Court. They're doing something giant and traditional."

I closed my book and looked at him. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Would they be comfortable with me there?" I asked uncertainly.

He let go of my foot and moved closer to me on the couch. "We'd be guests of the queen. They may not be comfortable, but they'll have to deal with it."

I contemplated a moment. "I guess I could take off the day before. Then we'd have the weekend after."

"No need to take off. We could fly in the twenty-third after you get off work. We'll have the private jet sent for us if I ask."

I nodded. "Sounds good." I picked my book back up.

"Do you ever _not_ read?"

"When I'm kissing you." I said without looking up.

He lifted the book from my hands. "I like the sound of that." He pressed his mouth to mine.

I smiled and snatched the book back from him. "This is really good. Just let me finish this chapter."

He groaned and sat back. He rubbed his hands up my calf.

I went back to reading. After a few minutes, I was to a good stopping point. I marked my place and put the book down. "I go tomorrow to try on my dress." I said.

He looked over at me. "Is that so?"

I nodded. "Bridesmaid dresses, too. Want to come?"

"Do I get to see your dress?"

"No, but you do get to see the bridesmaid dresses in person." I moved closer and wrapped my arms around his neck. "When does Jill's dress come in?"

"It's already in."

"Really?" I was a little surprised.

"Yeah. Other than the shop being in a relatively small town, Jill is one of their best customers. So they special ordered it. She's holding off the first fitting until I can be there."

"Good. So when is the next time you're going?"

"Spirit is staying pretty calm for now. So we can probably wait until Christmas."

"Also good." I kissed him. "Mom invited us for Thanksgiving."

"And what does your dad say to that?"

"That he's going to be out of town." I kissed him again, longer this time. "So are we going?"

"As long as your dad really isn't going to be there. We hate each other and I want you and your mom and sisters to have a good time."

I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. "Zoe won't be there. She has to go with Dad. They leave Wednesday."

"Oh." His arms tightened around me. "At least she'll be here for the dress fittings."

"Yeah." I pressed my eyes into his neck. "He's doing it on purpose."

"She'll be able to make the wedding, won't she?"

"I hope so." I looked up at him and smiled. "I don't want to talk about my dad anymore. It's just over a month to Christmas and I still haven't the slightest clue what you want."

"Well, there's one thing you could give me…" He slid his hands down my back and squeezed my bottom.

I slapped his hands away. "No, sir. Not that."

He laughed. "I would like you to show me how to change the oil in my car."

"Then I would never get the pleasure of doing that myself." I pouted.

He kissed me. "I just want to see you work. It's hot to see you under the hood covered in grease and oil." He moaned appreciatively and kissed me again. "I'd really love something signed by all of Aerosmith. They are my favorite band, you know."

"I _do_ know. Like what? A record? A picture?"

"Just something. Don't break the bank. Some of that stuff can be ridiculously expensive."

"Okay. I'll see what I can find."

"I'm excited." He kissed me hard on the mouth.

"Aren't you going to ask me what _I_ want?"

"I already have it ordered." He stood. "Come on, it's late."

"Not very late." I looked at the clock. "It's not even eleven."

"Maybe I just want it to be bed time so I can hold you with fewer layers between us."

I smiled. "I think I like the sound of that." I got up and wrapped my arms around his neck. "You are adorable when you sleep. Do you know that?"

"You watch me sleep?"

"Don't tell me you haven't done it to me. I fall asleep and wake up first most of the time. Perfect timing for both of us to be creepy."

He smiled and kissed me. Then he stepped back and slapped my bottom. "Get in that bed."

I squeaked and pushed his shoulder. "Jerk." I giggled and then turned and ran toward his bedroom.

Adrian followed close on my heels. He gathered the hem of my sweat shirt and pulled it over my head. He kissed me softly and pushed his hands underneath the waistband of my pants, resting them on my hips.

I snapped the button on his jeans, slowly lowered the zipper, and pushed them down a little. I slid my hands under his shirt to lay flat on his stomach.

He groaned. "Getting me all hot and bothered and then you're going to just stop."

"You were the one who started pulling off my clothes." I lifted his shirt over his head and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him and held him a moment. I kissed his neck and breathed him in. "You always smell so good."

"You do too. But in a completely different way." He crooned seductively in my ear.

I looked up at him. "I'm going to get in bed. I'd really like it if you would kiss me for a while before you go off to…be alone."

"I think I can manage that." He said as he pulled my tee-shirt off.

We got into bed together. Adrian stretched out over me, placing his knee between mine. He leaned down and kissed me softly. I pulled him down on top of me. I loved the weight of him holding me down. He smiled and covered my mouth with his. He slipped his tongue into my willing mouth. I kissed him back, stroking his tongue with mine and sucking hard on his.

I wrapped my ankle around his leg and dug my fingers into his skin. He moaned into my mouth. He found my hands and lifted them above my head, threading our fingers together. He lifted his mouth from mine and smiled down at me.

He slipped one hand out of mine and ran his fingertips down the length of my arm. He brushed them over my shoulder and cupped my breast. He massaged it gently as he dropped his mouth to mine again.

I arched my back and pressed myself into his touch. I tangled the fingers of my free hand in his hair. I squeezed his hand. A moan escaped my throat.

"I love that sound." He mumbled against my lips.

I caught his lips with mine before he moved his mouth away. He kissed a trail down my neck and over my collarbone. He replaced his hand with his mouth, sucking hard on my nipple. I moaned again and he hummed appreciatively into my skin. He kissed across the valley of my breasts to the other.

I felt the familiar pressure building in me as he sucked and lapped at my skin. I throbbed. I ached. I wanted him, all of him. I needed him.

"Adrian, please stop." I gasped. "You have to stop."

He sighed and rested his head on my chest.

I combed my fingers through his hair. My body still ached for him. I worked to control my desire.

Adrian shifted and kissed my shoulder. He kissed my neck. He kissed my lips. He smoothed his hand over my hair and smiled sweetly down at me. Then he left the room without another word, holding my hand until our arms couldn't reach any farther.

I covered my face with my hands and let out a long, steadying breath. I got out of bed and pulled Adrian's discarded shirt over my head. I turned out the overhead light and turned on the lamp on Adrian's side before I got into bed.

He joined me just as I was drifting off to sleep. He found my hand, but touched me nowhere else the rest of the night.


	21. Chapter 21

_Author's note: So this chapter is one of those that just needs to move some stuff along, but there is some nice tidbits here. Please feel free to review and let me know what you think. I have some great plans for the next chapter, so keep your eyes out for that one._

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Twenty-One

"Your mom's not upset that you're not spending Christmas here?" Adrian asked as I packed the last of my things.

"She's upset, but Dad didn't want me there. You remember Thanksgiving when he _actually_ showed up half-way through the meal and caused a scene. He said I wasn't welcome in their house as long as I was still with you, _especially_ if you were present."

"I don't guess I helped when I called him an asshole and a lousy excuse for a father." He smoothed and hand over my hair and kissed my temple.

"He got a good punch in." I said appreciatively.

"So did I." He picked up his bag. "Ready to get going?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Adrian handed over his keys as he took my bags from me. He rested his hand on top of mine as we traveled to the airport. The whole check-in process was pretty easy since we were taking a private plane. We went through the process quickly on the tarmac and then got right onto the plane.

It was odd having the whole airplane to ourselves. Adrian pulled me to the back and lifted the armrest between us. He rested his hand on my thigh. He waved off the safety instruction. The both of us had been on planes enough to know it by heart.

When we were finally in the air, Adrian asked for a glass of scotch on the rocks. I shot him a questioning look.

"I always have a drink when I fly." He explained. "Just one, I promise."

"It better be just the one." I warned.

"It will be, honey." He leaned over and kissed my cheek. Then he pulled my legs across his lap. "Make yourself comfortable."

I smiled and curled into his side, resting my head on his shoulder. "Do you think we should start some Christmas traditions?"

"Traditions?"

"Yeah, like something special that we do maybe combining something from each of our families."

"Hm…" He combed his fingers through my hair as he thought. "I think we should wake up together on Christmas Morning, real Christmas Morning, drink a cup of something hot and exchange gifts and then just curl up together on the couch for a while. Go back to sleep if we want. After we're married but before we have kids, we should totally have wild, hot Christmas sex."

I slapped his chest and moved away. "Any excuse."

"Yes. And you will make them up as soon as we're doing it." He leaned close and kissed me. "Want to join the mile high club?"

"No, definitely not." I laughed. "I like your idea. Your _other_ idea. It's something I was thinking about. When we were kids, our parents used to let us open one present on Christmas Eve. When we have kids, I'd like to do that."

"When?" He smirked and accepted his drink from the flight attendant.

I waited for her to walk away and ten continued the conversation. "I agreed we'd have them eventually. And I would be lying if I said I didn't ever consider being a mom. I want to be as great as mine. As great as you say yours is." I draped my legs over his again. "Do you think I'll ever get to meet her?"

"I hope so." He patted my legs. "I like the idea of letting them open a present Christmas Eve."

I leaned against the wall and watched as my fiancé sipped his drink. He was lost in thought and I wanted to ask him what it was, but I hesitated. I had noticed the change when I'd mentioned his mother. He had been in contact with her and he said she was okay, but he never said much else.

After a while, he looked over to me and smiled. "We've got a bit of a long night ahead of us, why don't you take a nap?"

I moved until I was lying with my head on his lap and my feet curled into the seat under me. As Adrian combed his fingers through my hair, he started humming softly. I knew from experience he was a horrible singer, but he wasn't bad with the humming. I tried to figure out the song from all the tunes he'd played me. As I went through the catalogue, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Adrian gently shook my shoulder, whispering, "We're landing."

I sat up groggily and strapped on my seatbelt. I yawned and stretched.

He chuckled and attempted to flatten my hair. "Honey, I think a trip to the lavatory after we land is in order."

I laughed. "Is it the worst thing you've ever seen?"

"I've seen worse." He assured me. "Though not by much."

I put my hand on his thigh and squeezed, leaving it there for the descent and taxiing of our plane.

Adrian gathered all our bags as I retreated into the bathroom to smooth down my hair. We left the plan to find Jill and Eddie waiting for us as well as a few other guards.

Jill ran forward and threw herself at Adrian.

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her in return. "Did you miss me or something?"

"Just a little." She stepped back and turned her affection to me. "I'm so glad you're here. Don't worry, I will be with you almost as much as Adrian. So will Eddie and Leah. We won't let anyone mess with you. And if they do, they'll have the queen to answer to."

I patted her back. "Glad to hear it. Thank you."

Eddie pulled me into a bear hug as soon as Jill stepped away.

I looked up at him. "You look like you've grown a few inches. Or is it just that I haven't seen you in so long?"

"I have grown a little. I was as shocked as you. Bulked up a little too, but you can't really tell by my layers."

"You can show off later." Jill joked affectionately.

"So who's driving?" Adrian asked, draping an arm over my shoulders.

We piled into one of a fleet of SUVs and made our way to the heart of Court. Jill talked almost non-stop about her dress for the wedding.

"I think we can go tomorrow, if you want. If we can. I'll ask Lissa." She continued on until Eddie cut her off.

"Aren't you going to ask if they're up for it, Jill?"

She looked down, embarrassed. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I just assumed. I know there's a lot going on."

"I can't wait to see it in person." I said.

"And you know I have to go wherever she goes. One of those lame fiancé things." He nuzzled my neck, making me giggle.

"Stop." I pushed him away.

* * *

We walked into the palace. I was more nervous being inside. Outside, I felt the ability to escape was a lot easier. I gripped Adrian's hand and he squeezed back reassuringly.

There was crying behind the door we stopped in front of. Dimitri gave us an apologetic look in greeting, well as apologetic as one so stoic in his duties could be, and then stepped into the room. Rose came out a few moments later.

"Chris is teething." She explained. "Lissa is trying to calm him down. She's really happy you're here and will be right with you as soon as Christian can convince her to let him handle it for a little while because she has things to do." She smiled. "Looking a little tense there, Sydney. Don't worry, I'll kick anyone's ass if they so much as look at you wrong." She winked and turned to poke her head back inside. The crying had died down.

"You're free to come in." She opened the door and ushered us inside.

Andrea toddled over and held up her arms to Jill with a smile. Jill gladly picked up the little girl and pointed to Adrian. "You remember him? Adrian." She looked up. "I swear I almost had her saying it the other day. She can say Mama and Dada. And Jill."

"Jill." She said happily, resting her head on her aunt's shoulder.

"Yep. Can you say hi to Sydney?" She rubbed the girl's back.

She smiled shyly and waved.

Lissa met us as we walked across the massive room. She rubbed her daughter's back and held out her hands.

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her aunt's neck.

"Well, I guess you see enough of me. Come, have a seat." She turned. "Christian took the baby. I'm sure Rose explained about his teething. Poor guy. He's really sweet when he's not in pain."

"I'm sure." Adrian laughed and pulled me into a seat beside him. "So how are things otherwise?" He tickled Andrea's cheek and she smiled at him.

"Going well." Lissa said. "The entirety of Court has been buzzing with the final preparation for the Christmas celebration. A lot of people are upset that I've invited dhampirs in a guest capacity, but I assured them that there is no problem mixing our races, obviously." She gave her sister a pointed look. "As soon as they catch a whiff of Sydney in the room, though, I'm sure all hell will break loose. I need as many off duty guardians in attendance as I can get to keep the peace." She smiled. "How are the wedding plans?" She asked me.

"We have a lot of the major things. Now we need a cake and other food. Possibly a band." I laughed, "I guess that's still a lot of big things."

Adrian squeezed my hand. "It's all overwhelming, but we're doing one thing at a time."

"Yes. And it's going to be fine."

She nodded. "Good. Very good. If you ever need anything, let us know. Jill showed me the venue. It's nice."

"I'm excited to see it in person. Didn't you say we'd try to go, Adrian?" I asked, rubbing his hand.

"Yes, definitely. I want to see it again with you. It's gorgeous."

We made small talk for a short time. I noticed Andrea watching me. When I looked at her and smiled, she pressed her face into Jill's shoulder and refused to be coaxed out of her shyness, even by her favorite aunt.

A woman knocked on the door and stepped into the room. "Your majesty, there is an urgent call for you. Something about the food. I didn't get all of it. He's screaming in French."

She sighed and stood. "Duty calls. Tell Henri to calm down, I'll be right with him." She took Andrea and kissed her temple. "Aunt Rose is going to bring you to Daddy." She passed her to her trusted guardian. "And I will bid farewell to the rest of you so I can decipher what has pissed this guy off. I probably won't see you until tomorrow at the party."

We shook off Jill and Eddie at Adrian's apartment door. Eddie seemed to want to pull her off alone for a while anyway, but I made the excuse that I was tired and just wanted to try to adjust at least a little while.

Adrian pulled me down on the couch. I curled into his side and wrapped my arms around him, taking comfort in being locked in his apartment for the moment.

He kissed the top of my head. "I think Andrea liked you."

"She's cute."

"I wish we could have met the baby. They kept him behind closed doors the last time I was here." He absently combed his fingers through my hair and watched the late-night movie he'd found.

"I want to try to stay awake so I can sleep all day, but I'm having trouble." I admitted just before I yawned.

"You can sleep if you want. My dad wants to see me. I won't subject you to that."

"Well, thank you. You attempt to bait my dad every chance you get."

"Because I know how to handle myself. And it's kind of fun to watch him squirm. With my dad, he'll make you wish you made different decisions. And I don't want that for you. I can handle him, too. I'll do it for both of us."

"No, I want to go with you."

"Okay. Take a nap, then. We're having supper together."

I put my head on his lap and he pulled a blanket over me. I was too nervous to fully relax, but I did doze off after a while.


	22. Chapter 22

_Author's note: Happy day! This chapter is full of a lot of great things, in my opinion. Well, and one or two not so great things. Please feel free to review and let me know what you think._

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Do I look okay?" I asked for the tenth time as I brushed my hair away from my face.

"You look great." Adrian assured me. "It's just supper with my dad."

"Your dad, who is one of the royals who takes his position in life very seriously." I smoothed a hand over my blouse and watched as Adrian headed towards the door.

He helped me into my coat and then put on his own. "He's mostly full of hot air, honey. You'll be fine." He slipped an arm around my waist as he guided me out the door.

We didn't talk much. I took comfort in the warmth of his body close to mine. After a short walk, he stopped in front of a large house. There was a set of guardians standing outside the door. I caught a glimpse of another pair patrolling around the house. Adrian noticed them too, and it seemed he was a bit concerned.

We were ushered inside and were greeted by Nathan Ivashkov in the foyer. He held out a hand to his son, ignoring me for as long as possible. Then he turned to me and gave me a tight smile. "Miss Sage." He said before turning and walking into a sitting room. He didn't look back to see if we followed.

"Mom?" Adrian said when he saw a woman I didn't recognize.

"Hello, Adrian." She stood and walked toward him. "I've missed you so much." She pulled him into a hug and he hugged her back. I could see the resemblance in my fiancée.

He let go and I could see his eyes glistening slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"I have some friends in high places. They pulled a few strings and got me home for Christmas." She lifted up her pant leg slightly. "House arrest. And I suppose you noticed the guardians outside."

Adrian stepped back and held out a hand to me. "This is my fiancée Sydney."

"Sydney, hello. I'm Daniella."

"Lady Ivashkov, it's lovely to meet you."

"Daniella, please. And it's lovely to meet you, Sydney."

Nathan snorted and mumbled something that sounded like, "Fucking human."

Adrian glared at his father a moment and then turned back to his mother with a smile. "Even though it's only a short time, Mom, I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad I'm here too."

Daniella was kind to me all through dinner. Nathan, on the other hand, went out of his way to be rude to me, going so far as to exclude me from the conversation. Adrian held my hand and worked hard to get me included again whenever that happened.

When the meal was finally over, Adrian hugged his mother tight to him and told her for the hundredth time how happy he was to see her.

"I'll come back before we leave. I promise."

"If I could leave…Maybe I can pull some more strings." She smiled through the tears falling down her cheeks.

He hugged her once more. "I'll be back."

She pulled me into an unexpected hug. "You take good care of him." She whispered to me.

"I plan on it." I patted her back awkwardly.

It started snowing as we made our way back to Adrian's apartment. He stopped and looked up at the sky, catching snowflakes on his tongue. He laughed. "This has turned into the best day ever."

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, ignoring the few Moroi and dhampirs milling around on the road around us. He hugged me back, lifting me up and spinning me around.

"For anyone who cares, I love this woman!" He announced.

A few snickered. Mostly they ignored him.

I pressed a quick kiss to his lips and then stepped back. "You drank a little bit too much."

"Maybe just a smidge." He said with a laugh.

I tried to hide a yawn, but he saw it.

"Come on, I'll get you back. We'll play in the snow once we've had some sleep."

"That sounds great." I yawned again unashamedly.

A few minutes later, I peeled off my snow-dampened clothes and pulled on a pair of sweats and one of Adrian's shirts. I climbed into bed just as my fiancé walked in.

He handed me a cup of hot chocolate. "Here, honey. That will help warm you up."

"Thank you." I held the cup between my hands and sipped it, warming up my insides.

Adrian got in beside me with his own cup and leaned against the headboard. "So what did you think of my mom?"

"I liked her. I'm happy you got to see her."

"Me too." He sighed. "Wonder if they would let me pull those strings for our wedding."

"You can try." I sipped more of my hot chocolate. "She seemed tolerant of me."

"She's pretty tolerant, for the most part. I think though, like the rest of the Moroi, that no matter how much she likes you, you're still human. That makes her nervous. That makes the rest of them nervous."

"It shouldn't. I'm the breeder for more guardians."

"Takes two to tango, baby." He smirked at me. "I've told you, Rose has told you, and Jill has told you that we don't have to be part of this life. Our children don't have to be part of it. Don't ever, for one second, trivialize our love for each other and the lives that we create just for _their_ benefit. Because it won't be. Our kids will be ours to train and raise as we see fit."

"You want them trained?"

"I think it would be in their best interest to train them in hand-to-hand combat. Just to be safe. I want them to know who they are. I don't want to pretend that they're human when they're not. They'll know better. And I want them to have a choice."

"To become fighters?" I asked softly.

"To make their own path. You and I didn't really get that for a long time, especially you." He put his cup on the table and stood. He undressed as he went on. "I don't want to control them. And I don't want to control you, honey. If you don't agree with this, then tell me."

"It makes sense." I replied, finishing my drink and setting it on the table. "I don't know. I just never pictured my children as fighters."

"Like I said, they don't have to be. But we shouldn't tell them they _can't_ be."

I nodded and scooted down on the bed. "Are you coming to bed?"

"Of course." He jumped onto the mattress and pulled me close. He nipped at my neck with a growl. "Take your shirt off."

I giggled, "Why don't you take it off for me?"

He lifted my shirt off over my head.

I tangled my fingers in his hair.

He continued to bite and suck on my skin. I felt myself relax even more than I already was. I sighed and pulled his mouth up to mine. I flipped him onto his back. I smiled down at him nervously.

"What are you going to do?" He asked, that signature smirk in place.

I covered his mouth with mine. Our tongues danced together as I slid my hands up his chest. I tangled my fingers in his hair as I raised my mouth from his. "You have to tell me when to stop if I go too far."

He combed his fingers through my hair. "Don't worry, I will."

I lowered my mouth to his again, kissing him briefly. I planted feather-light kisses along his jaw. My kisses became more insistent as they moved down his neck and across his shoulder. I made my way back to his neck and he moaned when my lips brushed across his collarbone. I clamped my mouth down and sucked tentatively.

I'd never really done this before. I had kissed several inches of his body, but never had I been this brazen. I was always too nervous. But I knew the time was right. I knew this was what he wanted.

He moaned again and caressed my shoulder as I sucked harder. "God, Sydney." He sighed.

I removed my mouth and kissed the spot softly. I moved my mouth lower, smoothing my hands down his chest. I nibbled on his skin the way he'd done mine. He sighed. I found his hand and tangled our fingers together as I kissed every inch of him I could get to hungrily.

"Time to stop." He sighed.

I looked up from just above his navel. "Okay." I pressed one more kiss to his stomach. I sat back, not letting go of his hand. "I'm sorry." I said softly, looking at our joined hands. The tent his erection made in his pants caught my eye. "Do you need to go deal with that?"

"I'll be fine for a little bit longer. It might even go away on its own."

"You don't want it to, though." I stretched out beside him.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, one of us should get at least a little satisfaction, right?"

He gave me a concerned look. "You mean you don't do it?"

I shook my head and looked away in embarrassment.

"Hey." He turned my face back to his. "You don't have to, but you should try it sometime. Not necessarily now, but, you know, eventually."

"We're going to be married in less than a year."

"Ten months can be excruciatingly long." He rolled into me and pressed a kiss to my neck. "I can give you a few pointers."

I giggled. "Maybe I can just figure a thing or two out. Or we can just, you know, give in."

"I don't want you to just give in." He leaned over me. "Unless you're ready." He kissed me. "If you haven't noticed, I am."

I could feel the pressure of his erection against my thigh. I kissed him, pulling him on top of me.

He rolled away. "No, not like this."

My heart sank. "I thought you said…" I sighed and rolled away. "Never mind."

"Sydney." He draped an arm over me and kissed my neck. "I want it to be perfect, unhurried."

"It doesn't have to be hurried tonight." I argued uncertainly.

"No, it doesn't." He stroked my arm. "But I'm not really prepared… I mean, I've brought girls here before…I'm bad at this." He pressed his eyes into my shoulder. "I'm sorry." He got out of bed.

I rolled over in time to see him walk out of the room. He slammed the bathroom door behind himself. I rolled back over and groaned into my pillow. I felt the tears stinging my eyes. I didn't want to let them fall. It was stupid. I berated myself as I pulled my shirt back on.

The bed shifted under his weight. I rolled over and watched as he turned out the light beside the bed and pulled the blanket over his shoulders. I moved behind him and wrapped an arm around him. I kissed his shoulder.

"I love you." I whispered. "I do. I'm the one who should apologize."

"No, not you."

"Why not me?" I kissed his shoulder again. "Hey, roll over and look at me."

He rolled onto his back. "I won't force you."

"You're not." I kissed him deeply.

"What do you want, Sydney?" He asked against my lips.

"I just want you to kiss me. Hold me. Touch me." I kissed him softly. "Let me feel loved."

He slipped his hands up my back and pulled me down. "Every day. I promise."

And then he kissed me, holding me close. I clung to him, moaning into his mouth. His hand slipped down my back and cupped my bottom. I moaned again, surprising myself.

He chuckled into my mouth and broke the kiss. "It's late."

"It's not like I don't want to never have sex with you."

"I know that."

"I want to. I _really_ want to."

"I know that, too."

"So why did you stop?"

"I don't want it to be in this bed. I don't want it to be in this apartment. I don't want it to be here at Court." He pushed my hair away from my face with one hand. The other still cupped my backside. "I want it to be when I know you won't be filled with guilt over the act. I want you to be happy that it happened. I want us both to bask in it all."

I rested my forehead against his. "I want all that too."

"Let's just go to sleep, honey. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We have the party. Let's rest up. We have all the time in the world to figure all this out."

He didn't remove his hands from me, so I rested my head on the pillow beside his head. He rubbed my back and I drifted off to sleep. He murmured into my ear about his love for me.


	23. Chapter 23

_Author's note: I have a lot of wonderful things planned for the next couple chapters. I bet if you read close enough, you can figure what I may have planned. I have a small exchange in Russian here that I got off a translator app, so if I out the wrong thing, let me know so I can fix it. I'll put the translations at the bottom._

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Twenty-Three

"I'm stealing your fiancée." Jill said as she walked into the apartment.

"Stealing her?" Adrian asked, looking between the pair of us.

"Yes. To get ready. You know, for the party. She's borrowing one of my dresses." She held out my coat.

I stepped close to Adrian. "I told you about this, didn't I?"

He smiled and cupped my cheeks. "You both did. I'm just so used to you being around." He kissed me. "Bundle up. And I'll see you at the palace?"

"Yes." Jill said. "We're all getting ready with Lissa."

"Who is this 'we'?"

"Who are you, her father?" She joked. "Rose and Lissa will be there, too."

"Definitely not her father. We both have too many daddy issues to even pretend." He kissed me again and then stepped away.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the mouth. I felt him smile against my lips. "I love you." I mumbled.

"Me too, honey."

Jill grumbled and grabbed my wrist. "We don't have much time. I need to make you perfect."

"She already is." Adrian called after us, just before Jill closed the door.

She laughed and threaded her arm through mine. "So, I hope you're ready, because I have the perfect dress for you. And it will look even better on you than on me because of your shape." She gushed about it for a while as we walked, but I wasn't paying much attention.

"Jill, how experienced are you?" I asked suddenly.

"Experienced? Like with guys?"

"Yeah." I said uncertainly.

"I'm still a virgin, if that's what you're asking. But I know a thing or two. I've been naked with a guy. Exchanged favors. Not with Eddie, of course. He's very into his guardian duties." She smiled. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I feel like I'm behind."

"Nah, not behind. Just pacing yourself."

I snorted. "I guess we can call it that. Adrian probably just thinks I'm a prude for waiting so long."

"Of course not. But don't you know how many other things you can do other than kissing?"

"I know _of_ them. I just don't know how to approach it."

"Like you approach everything else: talk to him. He really likes it when you tell him what you're thinking. He likes that he doesn't always have to guess with you. And most of all, he likes it when you take control in the bedroom, if last night was any indication." She tapped her head. "Helps that you've got a special insight into your man's mind. Eddie is still pretty closed off to me."

"Yeah, that does help." I chuckled and wrapped my arm around her waist. "If you ever want to talk about Eddie, you can talk to me, you know."

She smiled and wrapped her arm around me. "Thanks. I'll remember that. Lissa's too busy. Rose knows him the best, but she has other responsibilities. Adrian is very much a guy when it comes to that sort of thing and usually ends up threatening him with bodily harm." She sighed. "You're my other best friend after Adrian, just so you know."

"It's good to know where I rank." I smirked.

She laughed and we walked the rest of the way talking about how Jill wanted to fix my hair.

Rose, dressed in a magnificent black and white dress, opened the door when Jill knocked on it. She ushered us inside. She turned back and walked toward her best friend as she struggled into her dress.

"I don't like all these layers." The queen grumbled to the woman helping her dress. "I thought I would, but they are a pain in my ass." She sighed as they were finally able to button her in.

"You look great. This color matches your eyes perfectly." Jill walked forward and helped smooth out the skirt.

I stood transfixed at the sight. I'd seen the Moroi queen on several occasions, but the beauty I'd seen on those past instances was nothing compared to this moment. She was stunning. She looked like a goddess. My past fears long gone, I stepped closer to get a better look.

She smiled, "Well, I guess since I have the approval of a former Alchemist, I pass the test."

We all laughed. Rose sat her down and she and the other woman went about fixing her hair and doing her makeup.

"Here." Jill dragged me toward the dressing room. "Our dresses are in here."

Jill put me in a red dress that pooled on the floor. It had long sleeves and a scoop neckline. She handed me a pair of gold heels.

"These will work best. And I won't have to tack the hem too much." She explained.

I put on the heels and stood as still as possible as she worked to make the hem even. I stared in the mirror. My curves weren't as drastic as Rose's, nor was I as slim as Jill or Lissa. I was healthily in between. I'd gained weight in the last year and I looked good, despite not feeling that great about myself most of the time.

I smoothed my hands down my sides. "Wow, this is amazing, Jill. You don't mind me borrowing it?"

"Of course not. I don't look that great in red. And I knew this one would work best for you." She stood and draped an arm over my shoulders. She smirked. "Tell me, I'm good."

I laughed. "You're good. You'll be great at this."

"I sure hope so." She stepped away. "That hem should stay, but if it starts to fall, I can fix it in a pinch. I'll make sure to have some thread in my handbag."

"Rose is on duty tonight, right?" I asked as I helped Jill into a slinky white dress that fell to the floor. Hers was sleeveless and had a sweetheart neckline.

"Yes. But stylishly, as you saw." She put on her own shoes and then we walked into the main room together. "She was an invited guest but decided on somewhere in between."

Rose and Lissa looked up.

The guardian nodded appreciatively. "Looking good, Sydney."

"Really?" I smoothed my hands over my body self-consciously.

"Really." She nodded.

"Come have a seat." Jill ordered. "Ladies, I need some help. I need to make her look natural."

They worked on me for a long time, arguing about lip and eye color. In the end, they stepped away. My eyelids were purple and my lips only slightly more pink than normal. My layered hair fell around my face, framing it perfectly. I was gorgeous.

I helped as best I could with the rest of Jill and Lissa's preparations. Rose was ready, she said. She proudly showed us the stakes and other weapons she had hidden under her dress. Not that any Strigoi would easily penetrate the grounds, but better safe than sorry.

At two, there was a knock on the door. A group of male voices were raised on the outside. Rose opened the door. We were met with the sight of all our men and several members of the queen's normal guard. Eddie and Dimitri were dressed in the standard black and white of the guardians. They were on duty tonight, too.

When Adrian's eyes landed on me, he froze. I watched him swallow. His eyes burned into mine, telling me without words how amazing I looked to him. He pulled me into the hallway and smoothed his hands over me sides and hips the same way I had.

"My god." He sighed.

"Yeah?" I asked nervously.

"Oh, yeah." He said admiringly. He pressed a kiss to my neck, not wanting to disturb the lipstick.

I pulled the collar of his shirt away and glanced at the hickey visible there. I leaned down and kissed his neck in return.

Jill cleared her throat loudly. "There are _several_ other people present. Could you keep that to yourselves until you're alone?"

Adrian chuckled and pressed his eyes into my neck a moment before stepping away, but only slightly. He kept me firmly at his side. We made our way to the ball room in the center of the palace surrounded by the guard. I noticed Rose and Dimitri on either side of Lissa and Christian exchange looks even as they kept their eyes on the people we passed.

Eddie walked close to Jill. She had her finger discretely wrapped around his. His eyes never strayed to her, but I saw every muscle was keyed toward protecting her. She removed her hand from his when we finally approached the doors into the main ball room.

Lissa was announced and everyone bowed as she walked into the room. Adrian kneeled beside me as everyone did. I remained standing as well as a few choice guardians keeping an eye on the crowd.

The rest of us waited until the queen and her husband were in the room for our own arrival. I held Adrian back. I really didn't want to be announced, but it was part of the ritual. Many eyes glared at me. Most of the room ignored me. A few looked interested.

Adrian guided me around the room, keeping me at his side as much as possible. He proudly introduced me. Many of those I met appeared to be annoyed at my presence.

A familiar Moroi in bright colors sidled up to us. "Miss Sage, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Abe Mazur greeted me, taking my hand and kissing it. "If it's all right with your fiancé, would you give me the pleasure of a dance?"

"I suppose that would be all right." I smiled nervously. Even with all the hang-ups slowly going away, there was something about Abe that still unnerved me.

Adrian gently scratched my back and gave me an encouraging smile. "Have fun." We winked.

I let Abe guide me out on the floor. We danced in silence for the first minute.

"I can see you are more comfortable with my people." He said casually.

"I'm trying to be." I said just as casually. "I'm treating them as I would like them to treat me."

"And not be eaten?" He joked.

I laughed a little. "I'm sure they would have your daughter to answer to if that were to happen. And my fiancé."

"You have a lot of friends among us, Miss Sage. You have nothing to fear." He gave me a dazzling smile.

"Thank you." I said softly.

He asked me about the wedding plans and the proposal. I told him that it had happened when we were hanging out at my house, which wasn't a complete lie.

"The ring is beautiful." He commented when we stopped dancing. He kissed the finger bearing the ring with a smile. "Congratulations. I don't think you could have found anyone better."

"I don't either." My eyes strayed briefly to the man in question. "Thank you for the dance, Mr. Mazur."

"Any time, Miss Sage." He bowed over my hand and walked away.

I watched him sidle up to a female guardian wearing the traditional black and white, unlike her daughter. She turned her eyes to him and smiled affectionately before returning to her perusal of the crowd. He continued to talk to her, leaning close. She pretended to ignore him, but as with Eddie earlier, I could see that she was paying attention to him at the same time.

There was a tap on my shoulder, bringing me out of the observation. I turned to see Eddie standing close.

He smiled. "I'm on a break and Jill has already promised to dance with Adrian. So I was wondering if I could have this dance with you." He held out his hand to me.

I smiled kindly and slipped my hand into his. He led me out onto the floor. The song was a fast number. He had me laughing as he hammed it up on the dance floor. He spun me away and somehow I ended up face-to-face with Adrian.

My fiancé smiled and pressed a quick kiss to my lips before continuing the dance. He was just as hammy as Eddie and I was in stitches by the time the music stopped. He kissed me again. We stood in the middle of the floor as the couples around us stopped to stare.

I pulled him away into the thick of the crowd. I felt my cheeks burning. We made our way outside to the cold night. We weren't the only couple braving the chilly air. He pulled me away from them into an alcove and wrapped his coat around me. He kissed me again.

"You're beautiful, Sydney. Amazing. In that dress. In my old tee shirts. In nothing at all."

"Did Jill say something to you?" I asked with apprehension.

He shook his head. "What would Jill have to say to me?"

"I got her advice about something. I don't want to talk about it here, but after this, I would like to…try some things with you."

He pressed me into the wall and pressed his knee in between my legs. "What sort of things?"

I smirked. "You're just going to have to wait."

He sighed and pressed his mouth to my neck. "I don't like waiting."

"You've done plenty of it."

"Yes, I have." He trailed kisses up my neck and took my ear lobe in his mouth.

I moaned and instantly felt embarrassed.

He chuckled in my ear and raised his head. He rested his forehead against mine. "I can wait a while longer." He reached into the coat pocket and pulled out a long box. "I was going to give you this tomorrow, but I thought it would work with your dress. I knew which one Jill was going to let you borrow. She had me help, actually."

I slipped my arms into his coat sleeves and took the box from him. I opened it and saw in the soft light in the courtyard that it contained a necklace. There were two hearts tangled together. Each had a stone.

"I know it's a little sentimental, but I thought you'd appreciate me getting something like this."

I tilted it a little more and saw the stones weren't just any rocks, but our birthstones: aquamarine and ruby. "A&S" was engraved on it. I pushed myself up on my toes and kissed him softly. "It's perfect. Thank you."

"Merry Christmas, Sydney." He said softly.

"Merry Christmas. Your present from me is at your apartment. I couldn't sneak it in and you wouldn't be able to wear it anyway."

He slid his hands under the coat and brushed one against my breast. "What is it?"

"You'll just have to wait and find out." I kissed him again and then started working on getting the necklace out of the box. "Help me with this?"

After the new necklace was in place, the one I had been wearing was replaced in the box. Adrian stuffed it back in his pocket as he took his coat back and led me inside.

"Let me see." Jill requested as soon as she saw us.

I posed as she and Lissa examined my new piece of jewelry. Adrian held my hand as they gushed. Rose made her way over, dragging Dimitri behind her.

"It's gorgeous." She commented

"I guess I know a way to a girl's heart." Adrian commented.

"Jewelry's way better than perfume." Rose commented snidely. "Nothing like telling a girl they need to smell better."

"That wasn't my intention." He explained calmly.

Rose laughed. "I know."

Christian came over and whispered something in Lissa's ear. She groaned. "Off to be a queen again." She waved as she walked of.

"You promised me a dance, Roza, and our break is almost over." Dimitri said to the woman attached to his hand.

"I did, didn't I? Pokazhite mne eti shagi, Belikov." She laughed and dragged him away.

"Vy poluchayete luchsheye." He chuckled.

Jill rolled her eyes and wondered off to stand with some of her friends.

"You want to ditch this place?" Adrian asked softly.

"Is it late enough?" I asked anxiously.

"I think so."

I looked around. "I think we should wait another hour."

He nodded. "Okay." Then he pulled me onto the dance floor. "Let's make the most of the hour, then."

* * *

_Rose: Show me those moves, Belikov._

_Dimitri: You are getting better._


	24. Chapter 24

_Author's note: I posted a bit of this chapter on my Tumblr last night. So if you follow me there, you may have gotten a little preview and know what's going to happen. I really hope you like this chapter. I really enjoyed writing it. Please review._

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Twenty-Four

I was convinced to dance with a few more people. Adrian was too. We actually stayed for most of the party. As we finally made our way out, Adrian pulled me close and asked, "What was that promise you made?"

I just laughed and jumped onto his back. "Get going." I demanded with a laugh. "And I'll show you."

He laughed with me and galloped off down the road toward his apartment building. There were many other revelers still in the streets. Off in the distance, the sky was starting to lighten in the impending dawn. I was tired. But I was also floating on the high of the night. And I had some great plans.

Adrian sat me down after a while and we continued on hand-in-hand at a much slower pace.

"Have I told you I love you tonight?" I asked, threading our fingers together.

"Not for a while." He smiled.

"Well, I do." I kissed his hand. "About last night…"

"What about last night? It was awesome!"

I said slowly as he opened the door to his apartment, "What do you think about going the next step?"

He smiled and pushed the door open. "What do _you_ think about it?"

"I want to try it. It could be fun."

He closed the door and pressed me against it. "Tell me the thing that scares you the most about sex with me."

I rested my hands on his waist. I took a deep breath, "That you'll leave."

He smiled and pushed my hair out of my face. "We're engaged. We're going to be married in less than ten months. I'm not backing out."

"You're far more experienced."

"I'm not proud of that."

"I'll be horrible."

He gave me a reassuring smile. "The first time doing anything is a little awkward. But I already know how good you are in the areas we've explored together. You won't be bad. And if it doesn't work out, we'll figure how to make it better together. That's the whole point."

I slipped my hands under his coat and up his back. "What scares _you_ the most?"

He kissed me softly. "I want to make it special. Memorable. I want it to be as perfect as possible."

I cupped his cheeks. "And what did you just say? We'll figure it out together and the first time is awkward. For me, it'll be painful. But it will be worth it when we make it there. Because I love you. And you love me." I kissed him softly. "Help me take this dress off."

"What are we doing?"

"Something in between making out and going all the way."

He kissed me. "Only as much as you feel comfortable with."

I nodded. "Okay. That's what I want."

He picked me up effortlessly and carried me to his bedroom. He put my feet down on the floor. He kissed me, licking my lips before I opened them and invited his tongue inside. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tangled my fingers in his hair.

Adrian slowly lowered the zipper on my borrowed dress. He broke the kiss, moving his lips across my shoulder as he pushed the sleeve aside. He kissed up my neck and took over my mouth again. He sucked on my lower lip as he pulled the dress down my arms. He pushed it past my hips and it pooled on the floor. I stepped out of it and my shoes and kicked them aside. I was once again several inches shorter than him.

He spread his hand on my lower back and pulled me closer. I moaned into his mouth as I kissed him once more. I pushed his coat away and worked on the buttons of his shirt. He cupped my breast with his free hand when I moved away to remove the shirt.

I kissed the spot on his neck I'd sucked on the night before. I flicked my tongue out and made a trail up his to his jaw. I nipped at his skin, eliciting a moan.

He tightened his grip on me. The hand on my back slipped lower. He pulled the cup of my bra away and lowered his head to kiss the top of my exposed breast. He picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist as we moved to the bed. He sat me down and unhooked my bra, throwing it behind him. He lowered me to the bed and took my nipple in his mouth.

I moaned his name.

He sucked a little harder. His hands moved to my hips. He rubbed circles into my skin with his thumbs as he continued to work over my breast. He kissed across to the other and started giving it the same treatment. He pressed his hips into mine and I could feel the now-familiar pressure there.

My fingers fumbled at the button of his trousers. I groaned in frustration when the buttons wouldn't budge. His hands rested on top of mine. He brought his mouth to mine once more as he took over. Once they were gone, he moaned and pressed even harder against me.

My hands kneaded his back. He threaded his fingers into my hair and hooked a finger from his other hand under the waistband of my panties.

He mumbled against my lips. "Ready to take these off?"

"I-I guess so." I said uncertainly.

He pressed a kiss to my mouth and stood up. He pulled me to my feet. "We'll do it together on three." He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his boxer briefs.

I nodded. We counted together and then dropped the last barrier of clothing we had between us. Adrian gave an appreciative moan as he looked at me in my complete nudity.

I watched him and examined him head to toe, my eyes resting on his erection. I had seen plenty of pictures of the human penis, mostly in medical books. It certainly looked normal. I had no other thought as to what to do or say.

Adrian cleared his throat. "Do I pass your examination?"

I looked up and was ready to shoot a snide remark his way. But I stopped when I saw the look of apprehension on his face. I moved closer and cupped his cheeks. I pressed myself up on my toes and kissed him softly. "Why are you the one looking so nervous?"

He smiled and rested his forehead against mine. "I don't want to push you."

"You're not." I stroked his cheeks with my thumbs. "We're still going slowly. I'm breathing. You need to as well."

He smiled and pulled me closer, slipping his hands up my back. "Let's get into bed." He kissed me again and stepped away. He pulled the blanket back and got underneath.

I followed, wrapping my arms around him and hooking my leg over his.

He gasped and I felt him between my thighs. He kissed me gently, pushing me onto my back. His hands roved over my body. My skin burned everywhere he touched me unlike any other time. This heat was concentrated lower.

His hand dipped between my legs and I knew I must be burning him with the fire there. "May I?" He asked gently.

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. Please."

He kissed me as he slipped his hand between the folds and flicked his finger over me. I felt my body jerk. I moaned as he continued to rub there and kiss me.

He murmured against my lips, "I want to put my finger in you."

"No penetration." I panted back.

"Okay." He went on.

I felt the tension in my body rising, focusing down to my stomach and lower, to where Adrian continued to rub me. A moan escaped me. And another, ending in a whine. I clutched at him. "Adrian?"

"It's okay, baby. I'm here. Just relax." He kissed me again and again.

I felt the line snap taught and I gasped. There it was. I was at the peak. I could go no further. So I stepped off the edge and fell. My body shook. And it felt so good. I never wanted it to end.

Eventually I started coming back to myself and I heard Adrian's voice in my ear. "I'm here, baby. It's okay. You're beautiful like this. You're great, baby. I love you."

"Was that…?"

He smiled and kissed me. "Congratulations, Sydney, you've just had your first orgasm."

I felt the bubble of laughter rising in me. I tangled my fingers in his hair and kissed him hard.

His arms came around me and cradled me to him as he rolled to his back. We continued to kiss for a long time.

I looked down at him after a while. "What happens next?"

He smiled and smoothed my hair away from my face. "Touch me?"

"How?"

"Any way you want, honey. You can't hurt me. Explore me."

I kissed him and slid a tentative hand down his chest and stomach. I moved off to the side and examined his erection. I reached out and ran a finger from the tip down to the base.

He smiled and stroked my arm. "Maybe not as sexy as it could be."

I turned red and looked into his eyes. "Help me."

He took my hand and wrapped it around the base. He put his hand over mine and guided it up to the tip and back down. He kept his eyes trained on my face. I couldn't decide where I should look. I was transfixed by the action I was performing, but also by the adoration mixed with pleasure in his eyes while he watched me.

He leaned in and kissed my neck and let me take over. His hands moved into my hair and he kissed every bit of my face he could. One hand moved to stroke my back.

"Am I doing this right?" I asked before he brought his mouth over mine once more.

"Perfect." He managed to say. His breathing was growing ragged. He made many appreciative noises as he kissed me. "I'm close." He panted after a while.

"What does that mean?"

"About to get messy." He moaned.

And then I felt him as he started to pulsate in my hand. He met his climax with a gasp. The warm liquid came out of him and over my hand, slicking him up. It made me pause. He wrapped his hand around mine again, continuing to guide it up and down through the rest of the orgasm.

After a short time more, he collapsed back onto the mattress, panting. I watched him, unsure what to do. There was a smile playing on his lips as he looked at the ceiling. I leaned forward and kissed him. His hand came up to tangle in my hair as he returned it.

He reached over and fumbled in the drawer as we continued to kiss lazily. His hand came out with a small box of tissues and he handed me one. "One of the less sexy things about all this."

I cleaned off my hand and watched as he took another tissue to himself.

"Of course, we still could shower if you're up for it."

"Together?"

"Why not? It's one of my fantasies with you."

"Showering?"

"Yes. My shower is pretty big, as you've seen. It wouldn't be like we were right on top of each other, though I like the feeling of you naked and on top of me."

I snorted and pressed my face into his shoulder. "I can't believe all that just happened."

"I can't either." He combed his fingers through my hair for a while.

"Merry Christmas." I sighed.

"It's the best present ever."

"That wasn't the intended present. But if you accept that, I'll just hold the other present until your birthday." I teased.

"I'm not waiting for July." He protested.

I laughed and rolled out of the bed. "Be right back." I picked his shirt off the floor and pulled it on as I walked out of the room. I had stashed his gift under the small tree he'd set up in the corner of his living room. It was one of those tiny fiber optic ones that ran on batteries. I turned it on before I left the room.

I came back into the bedroom to find Adrian leaning against the headboard, his hands behind his head. The blanket was draped casually over his lap. I sat beside him and handed him the box.

"What is it?" He asked, bringing it up to his head and shaking it.

"You've already done that and I told you that you could break it. Just open it already."

He pulled the blanket over my legs. "You look cold."

I shook his shoulder. "Open your present and stop stalling."

He laughed and tore at the paper. He opened the box and put his hand over his mouth. "Oh, my god." He took the pictures out one by one. "All of them? You got one autograph from each of the members of Aerosmith?"

"Yes. It took me a while to track them all down. There's a certificate of authenticity for each one."

"You are the greatest fiancée ever." He pushed me onto my back and kissed me hard.

I laughed in his mouth.

He moved away and shuffled through the pictures once more. "These are going in my studio when we get a house."

"Do you want to start looking when we get back?" I asked as I curled into his side.

He turned his gaze back to me, twirling a piece of my hair around his finger. "Are you sure?"

"We pretty much live together anyway. And after tonight…I mean I still want to wait for the _big moment_ a little bit longer. But we can keep on doing this, right?"

"Absolutely." He kissed me again. "You want to go see about that shower?"

I chuckled and rolled out of the bed. I bit my lip and unbuttoned his shirt as I backed out of the door. "Well?" I asked as he just stared.

He threw himself out of the bed and took off after me.


	25. Chapter 25

_Author's note: This chapter has a lot of rainbows. Hot rainbows._

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jill gave me a smirk to rival anything Adrian had sent my way.

"Maybe you should work a little harder to get out of his head." I felt my face turning bright red.

She laughed. "So how was it?"

"You know how it was." I sipped my coffee.

"I know how it was through him. I got a burst of pure joy and it still hasn't gone away. So you see this smile on my face? I'm sure it perfectly matches his."

"It does, actually."

"So?" She shook my arm. "Tell me."

"It was amazing. It was different. I liked it. And that's all I'm telling you." I drank a little more of my coffee.

She groaned. "You're not a real girl at all."

"I _am_ a real girl. But you're like my little sister."

"And?"

"And I don't feel entirely comfortable talking to you about it."

"Fine. I'll have you know, you interrupted a lovely make-out session Eddie and I were having."

"You usually can block it out."

"I can. But this was _really_ strong. I'm still working on it." She smiled. "We made up for it though."

"Well, good. I guess." I chuckled. "We're going to start looking for a house."

"Fantastic! Like now?"

"Yes." I sipped my coffee. "Still have a lot to do with the wedding plans."

"I'll help you any way you need. I'm best lady, so I don't have a lot of duties. Speech, bachelor party."

I laughed, "Have fun with that."

"I could pass all that off on Eddie and help Carly plan your bachelorette party. Male strippers are more my taste than female ones." She chuckled. "Or we could just hang out. Like a middle school slumber party."

"I'll get the best hotel I can find around here. We'll have a blast." I assured her. "I'd much rather you were hanging out with me than my fiancé. You can sneak a peek into his mind and let me know he's not getting too crazy."

She giggled. "As long as he doesn't drink too much."

"If he knows what's good for him, he won't come to my wedding hung-over."

"Talking about someone I know?" Adrian asked nearby.

I looked up and smiled. "You. You're my favorite subject."

He took a seat close to Jill and draped an arm over the back of the booth. "They're getting my mother ready to transport her back tomorrow."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." I reached across the table for his hand.

He curled his fingers around mine. "I'm going to try to get her to our wedding. I'm going to try really hard."

"We'll add her to the invite list anyway." I rubbed my thumb against his skin.

He nodded and leaned over to kiss my hand. He smiled at Jill beside him.

She smiled back and nudged his side. "So…How's it going?"

His smile shifted and his neck turned a little red. "Oh, it's going." He squeezed my hand. "Did you know that this woman across from us is a wonderful mixture of beauty, adorableness, and sexy?"

"Don't forget just plain hot." His friend added.

I felt my cheeks heating up at their scrutiny. "Don't we have a plane to catch?"

Adrian chuckled. "True." He tapped his cheek. "How about a kiss for your favorite spirit user?"

She smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "Keep me updated about the house hunt." She requested. "And anything I can to do about the wedding planning."

"Of course." He assured her and returned her kiss.

I hugged her tightly for a moment and then stepped away. "Sorry about last night."

"Don't be. I haven't felt this good in a long time."

We went our separate ways. Jill had places to be and Eddie was going to bring us to the airport. We met him at the main garage where our things were already packed away in the back of one of the cars. I sat in the back and let the guys talk up front. I wasn't paying much attention. I played with the necklace Adrian gave me and thought about the events from the previous night.

I replayed every moment from the time we stepped through his apartment door to the shower. After our shower—which took so much longer than a normal shower because we kept kissing and Adrian kept touching me all over—Adrian and I had made some more hot chocolate and curled up on the couch together for a while.

"Our new tradition." He had said.

We watched the lights on his tree changing colors. We dozed together and somewhere in the late morning, we stumbled back to Adrian's bed for a more proper sleep.

I got a text from Jill, waking me up. It had a wink face. I showed Adrian and he laughed.

"Sydney?" Adrian said from the front seat.

"Hm?" I looked up, taken out of my thoughts.

"We're here."

I looked out the window. "So we are." I got out of the car and took my suitcase from Eddie. I hugged him tightly. "You take care with Jill." I said softly.

"I plan on it." He assured me. He nodded toward Adrian. "He can use compulsion on me and make me hurt myself if I hurt her." He shook Adrian's hand. "See you soon."

My fiancé took my bag. I resisted, but he insisted. He smiled, "I'm trying to be a gentleman."

"You don't have to try." I grabbed the tail of his coat so I wouldn't lose him in the crowd.

We boarded our plane and once again hunkered down together in the back. I raised the armrest between us and leaned close. I asked for a diet coke as soon as we took off. Adrian got his normal alcohol. I shook my head and leaned into him anyway.

He kissed me and slid his hand down my chest and stomach. It came to rest inside my thigh.

"That's going to be a gigantic no, Adrian." I pushed his hand away.

"Aw, come on." He slipped his hand between my legs again. "It's fun."

I giggled. "It may be fun, but I don't want to do it on the airplane."

He sighed. "Can I feel you up a little?"

"You'll do anything, won't you?" I threaded my fingers through his and rested our hands on my knee. "No. Nothing is happening on the plane."

He kissed my hair. "I love you, Sydney."

"I love you, too." I sighed, "Oh, Adrian."

"What?"

"I don't know. I just feel so…content."

"Like we're stuck?" He chuckled and kissed my hair again.

"Yeah, but in a good way. We're going to start looking to buy a house to make our lives together. We're another day closer to our wedding. Another step closer to completely…" I trailed off, unable to think of a good way to say what I wanted.

"Becoming one?" He supplied.

I smiled. "Yeah. That's it. I look forward to it even more now."

"Then we'll both be kept in delightful suspense until then. And do we want to wait for our wedding night for that? Or do you want to just let things happen as they happen?"

"I'd like to wait for our wedding night." I kissed his hand. "Is that okay?"

"It'll make it that much better." He kissed me. "I look forward to completely deflowering you on our wedding night.

I laughed. I kissed him. "I couldn't love you any less if I tried."

He smiled. "Could you be any more adorable?"

"I don't know."

He pulled me onto his lap. He kissed me softly, slipping a hand under my shirt. His fingers tangled in my hair. I balled my fists in the front of his shirt and kissed him back lazily. We remained like that for most of the flight. The flight attendant had to ask us repeatedly to get in our own seats and fasten our seatbelts for the descent.

Adrian took my hand and held it. "Your place or mine?"

"My car is at my place. And I have to work tomorrow."

"You like my bed better."

"I do."

"So we'll go back to my place and you can take my car to work. And I will start an internet search for houses. Then we can look over what I find and discuss it over dinner. I'll bring you to your car later."

"Are you going to cook for me? Be the doting househusband?"

"I'll be everything I can be for you, Sydney."

"Just because you work from home doesn't mean I expect you to do everything. I know you have stuff to do."

"On days that I'm blocked, and it happens a lot, I tend to organize things."

"I've noticed." I chuckled. "On those days, you can get the laundry caught up. On other days, I'll pull my weight."

"I paint all day. You change oil and rotate tires and drop engines into cars. You work hard. I don't expect you to do everything either just because you're the woman."

"Well, that's good to know."

We finally were released from the plane. I took my own things this time, freeing Adrian's hand for me to hold.

The house was cold when we got there. Adrian turned up the heat and pulled me close.

"I know the best way to warm us up." He said, pressing his face to my neck.

I laughed and pushed his coat off. "I bet you do."

He took my coat off and draped it over the back of the couch. "Come on, you sexy thing." He pulled me toward the bedroom.

I laughed again. "You demand a little too much."

"Well, it's late. If we're going to do anything, we need to get it done so you can get some sleep."

"I could always call in tomorrow. Mom said she wouldn't fault me if I did. She knows the schedule at Court." I pulled his shirt off and kissed him.

"Then we could do this all day." He took my shirt off. "I like that thought."

We finished undressing each other and climbed into the bed. We kissed lazily for a long time. Our hands explored slowly. My hand wrapped around his erection. He thrust into my hand as he slipped his finger into me. He knew what he was doing more than I did. I felt like I was fumbling. But the way he was responding felt like I was doing _something_ right.

I kissed him over and over as I felt the pressure building in me. I moaned into his mouth and he responded in kind. He murmured against my lips as he grew closer. He pulled me on top of him as he met his climax, the warmth of his ejaculation spreading between us.

He pulled my hips forward and rubbed me harder and faster. I felt my breath catch. I fell forward and braced my hands on his chest. I pressed myself into his touch and groaned. I leaned closer and kissed him as the wonderful convulsions started. "You're so good at this." I was able to say, but only barely.

"I do what I can, baby." He kissed me again.

I sighed and rolled away. "Oh, wow."

He laughed. "Yeah." His hand found mine and he threaded our fingers together.

"I like when you call me baby like that." I said softly.

"You do?"

"Yes. My mom calls me baby sometimes. So it just seems weird for you to say it casually. That's why I told you not to call me that. But these last few days, and the day after you drank from me, you said it and it was so sweet and loving. Like it was a precious word. Like I'm special to you."

"You _are_ special, Sydney." He moved over me. "Maybe we should shower." He trailed his fingers in the drying mess on my stomach.

I smiled. "It can be our nightly ritual."

"I like the sound of that." He leaned down and kissed my shoulder. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me. Do you know that?"

I combed my fingers through his hair. "I hate to think where either of us would be if we had decided to just follow the rules."

"Me too." He pressed his mouth to mine. "You are so incredible."

"You are ridiculous."

"But you love me. Right?"

"Of course." I pulled him to me and kissed him. I rolled him onto his back. "Shower. Then sleep. Then do this all over again."

"Sounds like the perfect plan."

"Come on." I rolled out of bed and tugged on his arm. "I think I've discovered my new favorite thing."


	26. Chapter 26

_Author's note: I put more of Sydney's mom in here because I like her. She's the reasonable voice in Sydney's life and is always her cheerleader in my mind. I write her kind of like my own mom, actually._

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Twenty-Six

"So you're starting to look for a house?" Mom asked as we leaned inside the hood of a large farm truck. We were changing out the water pump.

"Yeah. We figured out the wish list and he's going to look for a few online."

"What's on your wish list?"

"A good space for Adrian's studio and a couple extra rooms for Jill's visits. I don't have a whole lot of needs. I've been living in my tiny house for a year. Anything is better than that."

She laughed. "I know what you mean. Your dad and I lived in some pretty tiny places at first. You're lucky you're marrying someone who's loaded."

It was my turn to laugh. "Yep, I'm pretty lucky. In a lot of ways. I guess I'll know when we see it."

She stopped working and looked at me. "There's something different about you."

"What something?" I asked. My hand went to my face. I probably had a ton of oil on my face.

She shrugged, a knowing smile on her lips. "Just something."

"I didn't think I was so obvious." I mumbled as I leaned down once more. "There's nothing you need to worry about."

"I'm not worrying. You're an adult. You know how to make good choices."

"I'm still…" I looked over my shoulder to the others working nearby. "I'm still a virgin."

"It wouldn't be the end of the world if you weren't. Just be smart about it, Sydney."

"I know that you want to be a grandmother, but we're not going to have any kids. At least not anytime soon. We're going to take every precaution. I can't afford it. And, well, with who he is…I don't want to think about that for a while."

She nodded. "I understand. Don't feel obligated. I would love a grandchild, but you're the ones who have to raise it. I won't be doing much more than spoiling your children. Spoiling them rotten. Not that your dad would let them in the house." She sighed.

We lapsed into silence. We asked each other for tools, but nothing else for the rest of the project.

Mom looked up at the clock as we finished up. "I think we can fit in one oil change each. Want to race?"

I chuckled. "Okay. But don't start until I get this monster outside." I hurried into the driver's seat and pulled it out of the building.

The race was a close one. Mom finished up just a few seconds before I did. He high fived and then took our cars outside. The day done, Mom went about sending everyone away and closing up. I lingered.

"Mom?"

"Yes, baby?" She sat down at the computer to look over the day's sales.

I leaned over the counter. "Do you think Dad would change for his grandchild?"

She looked up, taking her reading glasses off and examining me. "I don't really know. Being what your husband is, and what your baby would be because of that, I doubt it. But I would hope he'd change his mind. I always hoped he would. Three daughters later…" She sighed. "I really don't know, Sydney."

"It hurts." I admitted, feeling the sting of tears in my nose.

"I know it does. He asks about you sometimes. He pretends you're too far away for him to see you."

"I feel like I am most of the time. From him." My phone went off in my pocket.

"Go home. Be with your fiancé. And when you find a place, I'm throwing you a giant housewarming party."

"Thanks." I answered my phone as I walked out to my car.

"Hey, sexy lady." Adrian crooned on the other end.

I giggled. "Hello, handsome. What are you up to?"

"Well, I talked to a realtor. Do you feel like you could look at a couple houses today?"

"I'm pretty tired. But I guess."

"We don't have to, honey. We can do it this weekend."

"Let's go tonight. I'll come get you."

"Okay. See you soon."

I drove to Adrian's and he met me on the porch. He leaned over and kissed me. He smiled.

"What?"

"Your face is grease-smudged. Do you want to go in and clean up?"

"Probably would be smart. I'll be right out." I washed my face and changed my shoes. I didn't mind my clothes looking the way they did because most of the time I wore coveralls while I worked. But I didn't want to walk on the floors of potential homes and track garage gunk all over them.

When I got back into the car, I took the necklace Adrian gave me out of the center console. I took my engagement ring off the chain and slipped it on before I put on the necklace.

Adrian smiled. "I see you like to keep them close."

"Very close. If I worked anywhere else, I'd wear them all the time." I pulled out of the driveway and headed toward where he directed me.

I pulled in front of a house on the opposite end of the city from where we were currently living.

"I already don't like this place." I said as I got out of the car.

"And why is that?" He slipped his hand into mine.

"Because I was kind of hoping to stay close to where we are now. It's a nice area."

"This house is first because it's the farthest. I asked the realtor to keep in mind the neighborhoods where we both already live."

A car pulled up behind the Mustang and a man got out. He walked toward us.

"Dave O'Donnell." He held out his hand.

"Adrian Ivashkov. This is my fiancée Sydney." We all shook hands.

"First impressions?" He asked us as we walked toward the house.

"It's cute." I said.

The single story brick house was just that. I had nothing else to say.

"It's a three bedroom. A little dated, but with plenty of options to fix it up."

We walked through. The bedrooms were rather small, but it didn't matter much to me personally. There was an office Adrian could easily turn into a studio. I could tell Adrian wasn't a huge fan of the size of the office. The kitchen/dining room wasn't even that great. Mr. O'Donnell had said dated. It was just a nice way of saying non-functional.

When we were done looking at the rest of the place, Adrian and I exchanged a look and shook our heads simultaneously. We moved on to the next place more central to the city.

"This one is a little bigger. Four bedrooms this time, but no office. So one of the bedrooms could be made into your studio." He explained a bit more about it, but I didn't pay a lot of attention. The road out front was quite busy.

Adrian looked over to see me scrutinizing the road and nodded. I guess he understood my concern. Whenever we had children, we would have to make sure they couldn't escape into the front.

The inside of his house was quite a bit larger. I could see the small things we could do to make it better. But in the end, it didn't seem right. We were left alone to discuss.

"I don't hate it." I said as I walked around the kitchen.

"But you don't love it."

I shook my head. "What do you think?"

"The road makes me nervous."

"I could tell."

"He as a few more ideas. We could look at a couple a night if you want."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

We walked out and told Mr. O'Donnell our opinion. He nodded and we set up for the same time the next day. He gave us the address of the first house he planned to show us so that we could meet him there. The next houses were much closer than these had been. I looked forward to seeing them.

"I say we get some fast food burgers and go home." Adrian said as he buckled his seatbelt.

"I like that plan."

As we ate later, Adrian brought up the wedding. "What do we have next in line?"

"I'll have to look up the checklist, but we need to get the invitations out soon."

"I think I might know someone who can make them."

"Good. Will you make a call?

"Sure, honey. No problem."

"Well, I guess we could think about the food. Do we want to have a sit-down dinner or just finger foods?"

"It will be the start of the Moroi and dhampir day, so I don't know how many of them would want to have an actual meal."

"That's what I was thinking. Maybe we can do breakfast. That would be a nice twist."

He smiled. "It would be. Breakfast and wedding cake. What a way to start a life together."

I chuckled. "Yeah. Well, I hardly eat breakfast normally."

"I know that." He reached across the small table and took my hand. "So traditional American breakfast or do we want to get fancy?"

"I say traditional American. Pancakes and waffles made to order. Giant amounts of sausage patties and links and bacon. All the bacon. I love bacon."

"Good to know the way to your heart." I joked.

"The ideas are endless. I'm kind of excited about this now."

"Me too, actually." I squeezed his hand. "I have a couple more fittings for my dress. We still have quite a while, so some of these details can wait. But it feels good to have an idea now."

"Yeah. Quite a while." He sighed.

"Hey, what's that about?"

"I just want to be married to you."

I kissed his hand. "I call bullshit on that one."

He chuckled. "Well, that and I just want to have real sex with you."

"What we do is real. And you'll be okay."

"I know." He sat back. "So what do you think about the houses. What will sell you?"

"I don't really know, actually. Get your computer, let's look at some and get an idea."

For the rest of the evening, we looked through the site for Dave O'Donnell's realty company.

My eyes caught on a two story white house. It had four bedrooms on the second floor. On the first floor, there was a large living room and kitchen as well as a formal dining room and sitting room.

"I have a good feeling about this one." Adrian said.

"Yeah, me too. Send Mr. O'Donnell an email and tell him we want to look at that one tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am." He smirked and opened his email.

We headed to bed not long after that. It had been a long day, so I reluctantly turned Adrian down as soon as he started touching me. He swore it was fine. I could tell it really wasn't. We fell asleep wrapped up in each other's arms.


	27. Chapter 27

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Adrian, I love it." She gushed as we took another walk through alone.

I laughed. "I can tell."

She took my hand and pulled me toward the back of the first floor. "This would be perfect for your studio, sweetheart. Don't you think?"

I looked around what was defined as the "formal sitting room" and nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right." I walked toward the large picture windows that faced the back yard. "We need to get UV blocking glass so I can work in here during the day."

She smiled expectantly.

"We'll put a bid in." I slipped my hand into hers. "The back yard is fenced in already. We could get a swing set."

"Not for a few more years." She reminded me.

"I know. But that's one less thing we need to worry about when we're ready." I twirled her engagement ring around her finger. "Are you sure?"

"It feels right."

"It does."

"You have everything else figured out, right?" She asked as we walked toward the front of the house once more.

"Yes. I've been looking into it while you were at work and I have no artistic thoughts. I know a lot about buying a house, honey. I think we're set."

"And you have plenty saved up for down payments and stuff?"

"I could buy this whole place and still pay for the wedding of your dreams."

"You have that much?" She seemed a little shocked.

"My dad gave me some when we were at Court." I looked down at my feet. Sometimes I hated that my dad just handed me money in replacement for his non-existent love. But in this case, I was grateful. It was a nice gift. "If we offer to pay it in a lump sum, we could get it at a lower price."

"So make the lowest offer acceptable. And I'll contribute however I can." I could tell she was uncomfortable. My large bank account often did that to her when it came to matters like this.

I placed my hands on the sides of her face. "You work your ass off. I mostly sit around on mine. Let me take care of you, Sydney. And don't worry about anything else."

She sighed and put her hands on top of mine. "I don't want to feel useless."

"You can pay me back by taking care of my car. And decorating this place."

"If we get it." She took my hand and we walked out to meet Dave.

"I sure hope we do." I looked to the real estate agent. "Can we discuss this over coffee?"

"That works." We drove to a local coffee shop and he explained the process.

"We'd like to buy the house outright." I said as he finished.

He nodded. "I can put that in the offer. And it will help a lot. The current owners have already purchased a new home." He made a few notes on a pad of paper.

I sketched Sydney on a napkin as we talked and he wrote. Her hand twitched on the table between us. I think she was aching to touch me. I knew I wanted to touch her, but she wasn't always too big on public affection, especially in the presence of someone she barely knew.

I slid the napkin toward her and leaned forward. "So how long until we know if the offer is accepted?"

"I'll have the papers for you to sign tomorrow and I'll present them. We could have an answer as early as tomorrow afternoon. But it could still take a few days."

I nodded and rested my hand on Sydney's knee and squeezed. "Awesome."

He smiled and started gathering his notes. He held out his hand to Sydney and then me. "It's been a pleasure meeting you. And I hope I can make this work for you."

"We do too." Sydney said.

He left a few seconds later and we were alone.

My fiancée picked up the napkin. "You're pretty good."

"Yeah, pretty good." I kissed her temple. "Are you sure about the house?"

"Are you? You're the one paying for it."

"You're name will be on the title."

"Sydney _Sage_ will be on the title."

"Do you want to change your name?" I asked gently, rubbing circles into her thigh with my thumb.

"Don't you want me to?" She put her hand on top of mine to stop the movement.

"I would love it if you took my last name. I'm a bit old fashioned in that way. But if you want to keep the name you were born with, then do it."

She sat back and started playing with the necklace I gave her. "I don't know if I like who she was most of the time."

"I fell in love with who she was. Who she became. Who you _are_. Change your name. Don't. I don't care. You're always Sydney. _My_ Sydney. And I'll always love you." I kissed her cheek. "Just as long as our kids have my last name."

She grinned. "That's your next goal, isn't it?"

"Maybe." I pressed her into the corner of the booth and kissed her hard on the mouth. I said slowly. "Sydney Ivashkov."

"Is that why you stopped calling me Sage? Because you don't want me to be a Sage anymore?"

"Yeah. A little bit of wishful thinking on my part."

She chuckled and pushed me away. "I think I like the sound of Sydney Ivashkov. What if I just change my last name now? We don't have to be married for me to do that."

"Only if you want to."

She sighed. "I don't know."

I brushed hair away from her face and cupped her cheek. "It's your name, Sydney. Take it if you want it."

She leaned against my hand. "I'll ask my mom what she thinks."

"Not Jill or Rose?" I teased.

"Jill would tell me to definitely do it. Rose would tell me definitely _not_ to."

"You don't know. Jill might in the Sage Camp."

"She might be."

"Or I could change _my _last name."

She wrinkled her nose. "Adrian Sage? I don't like it."

"I could always just change the whole thing and become Jet Steele officially."

"That sounds like a porn star name."

"And what do you know about porn stars, Sydney?" I teased. "Is there something you're keeping from me?"

"Yes." She grinned. "I watch a lot of pornography. I watch so much that I have unrealistic views on a normal sex life."

I threw my head back and laughed so loud that we got nasty looks from a group of college kids at a nearby table.

She laughed along with me, pressing her eyes into my shoulder. "I like making you laugh."

"I like laughing with you." I kissed the top of her head. "Should we start the transition?"

"What transition?"

"Figuring out what stuff needs to go and what can stay?"

"Sure." She sat back and stared playing with her engagement ring. "This is frightening. But in a really good way."

"Yeah." I stole a kiss and then stood. "Let's go back to your place tonight and start there. Most of my stuff's still in boxes."

"Agreed."

* * *

The offer was snatched up quickly, but all the paperwork was going to take a while

I decided to slowly move all my things to Adrian's house as he helped me go through it. I didn't have too much. Moving around as much as I had in my former life, I didn't gather much. I had a lot of books, mostly from my childhood home. Those took the most to move.

I decided to give the name change decision a little more thought. It wasn't something I wanted to jump into. I was already stressed with the thought of the official move. I was moving in with my fiancé. I was freaking out inside. I put on a good face for Adrian.

One night after pleasuring each other to exhaustion, Adrian fell asleep. But I couldn't. We were set to sign the closing papers soon. I combed my fingers through his hair as he dozed on my chest and I imagined our life together. I couldn't wait to be his wife. I was anxious to see where our lives would go together.

In the end, I knew that there was no other thing I wanted more than to add his name to mine. I kissed his forehead and whispered, "Sydney Sage Ivashkov."

He shifted and raised sleepy eyes to mine a moment. He smiled and gave me a clumsy kiss. Then he rolled away.

I didn't think he heard. I moved closer to him and wrapped my arms around him. I kissed his shoulder.

He took my hands and held them tight to his chest. He whispered, "I like it."

"I thought you were asleep."

"Only dozing a little. I still feel the need to be awake at night sometimes."

I kissed his shoulder again. "I think I'll do it."

He rolled onto his back and watched me for a while. "Don't do it just because I want it."

"I'm not. I realized I want it, too." I gently scratched my nails up and down his chest. "It's the complete opposite of feminism, isn't it?"

He smirked. "I didn't realize you were a feminist."

I snorted. "I don't guess I am. But I'm keeping Sage."

"I heard." He pulled me to him and brushed his lips against mine. "I need to go see Jill soon."

"I wish I could go with you."

"Me too. But you don't have any time to take off."

"Nope." I put my head on his shoulder and snuggled close.

He started moving his fingertips over my back. "I love that you're naked right now." He growled.

"I bet you do." I continued scraping my nails down his chest. "I love you."

He kissed my forehead. "You should get some sleep."

"I should." I yawned and pulled the blanket tighter around us. "Good night."

"Good night." He kissed my forehead and said, "I love you, Sydney."

* * *

We closed on the house a few days later. It was ours. Completely. Adrian had written a check for the full amount. I had never seen so many numbers on a check in real life.

He grabbed my hand and dragged me inside. "Okay, where do you want to start?"

I laughed. "With what?"

He lifted me onto the kitchen counter. "Christening the house." He pressed a kiss to my mouth.

I pushed him away. "Let's make sure everyone's gone for good. And maybe start moving. I'd like to sleep here tonight."

He sighed and kissed me again. "Okay. But I'm going to need frequent breaks. Mostly because of the sun, but also to touch you and kiss you and know that I'm the luckiest man alive."

"Also the one full of the most clichés." I hopped off the counter. "Let's get started. Mom has a truck we can borrow."

I ignored his defeated groan as we walked outside.

The move was relatively easy, especially once my mother enlisted the help of one of our mechanics and his wife. With a second truck and two other pairs of hands, we had all our boxes in the house and the beds put together and in place in no time. The furniture was all in the correct room, but not placed where it would ultimately be.

When they were finally gone, I collapsed on the couch.

Adrian landed on top of me. "Ready to do that thing I tried to get you to do earlier?"

"I'm ready for a shower in _our_ bathroom and then bed." A giant yawn escaped me. "Aren't you?"

"I am. But I'm also a young man. I live in an almost constant state of arousal."

"Well, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to deal with it on your own tonight." I moved out from underneath him and stretched. "I'm going to sleep all day tomorrow."

"I suddenly feel the urge to paint."

"Paint all you want, sweetheart. I'm cleaning up. Come join me if you want, but no funny business." I walked up the stairs and into the master suite. I stood there a moment, looking around. There it was again, the contented feeling. I sighed.

Adrian's arms came around me. "Yeah." He kissed my neck. "I agree completely."

* * *

Adrian groaned and sat down beside me on the couch. He put his head on my lap and looked up at me under my book.

"My dad is insisting on a prenuptial agreement."

I closed my book and set it aside. "Okay."

"He thinks I'm stupid for spending all my money on you and not doing anything to guard myself. He's also under the impression that the only reason you're with me is because of the size of my wallet."

I combed my fingers through his hair.

He smirked. "You're not, are you?"

I leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Obviously not. You know it doesn't make me comfortable when you throw money at me."

"You make it sound like I'm your sugar daddy." He tangled his fingers through mine. "I do want a prenup, but on our terms. In the event that this all falls apart, I want you to have plenty to keep you going. You can have the house. You can have everything in it."

"I don't know about you, but I plan on hanging on to this." I kissed his hand.

"I do too. But my dad—"

"Isn't marrying me. If it would make you feel more comfortable, though, then let's do it. But don't do it just because your dad is pushing it."

"I really do want you to be secure. Just in case. I don't ever want to fall out of love with you. I don't want to hate you. But things happen."

"I don't want to give up before we even start."

"I know. And I plan on sticking with it and working my ass off to keep this."

"Me too." I kissed his hand again. "Okay, draw up the papers. But put a condition in there that it's ineffective after ten years of marriage. After that, whatever happens happens."

"You'll get everything. You can have my heart too."

"I thought I already had that." I said with a teasing grin.

"You do." He pulled me down for a kiss. "Go back to your reading. I'm going to take a nap here. Wake me in an hour and I'll get back to setting up my studio."

* * *

_Author's note: This is the house I've envisioned in all my future one shots. The first floor has a living room off to one side. The kitchen/dining room is opposite it at the front. Farther back is a room that became Adrian's studio. There' s another room that is used as an extra guest room. There is also a half bath down here. On the second floor, there are four bedrooms. The master bedroom has its own full bathroom and there is another full bath for the other three rooms to share.  
_

_I just wanted to make that a little clearer from the other clues I've given in this and the previous chapter as well as the one shots. Envision the specifics however you would like, those are just the basics._

_Thank you for reading and feel free to review._


	28. Chapter 28

_Author's note: Thank you so much for reading! And thank you for taking the time to review and tell me you love this. I really love writing it, so seeing how many of you are enjoying it makes it that much sweeter! And thank you for the love over on Tumblr. If you'd like, check out booksrockmyface for updates and see random snippets because sometimes I post them in the middle of writing when I know I won't be publishing for a while. I also sometimes put up random thoughts I get while in the middle of writing._

_One reader asked about another one shot of them in the future with their kids (if you haven't read those, then I suggest you do). I'll probably write more on those when this is done. Especially something that would lead up to what we see with Jill and Eddie in _Build Your World Around Me_. This (probably) only has a few more chapters. Like about five._

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"I'm going to miss you." I sighed as Adrian and I undressed each other.

"I'll only be gone a few days."

"Why can't she come here for a weekend? I want to show off the house."

He kissed me. "Because her mother's not ready for that. She's going to be graduating soon."

I spread my hands out on his bare chest. "I don't like it when you go to Court. You come back a different person for a few days."

He placed his hands on the sides of my face. "If you get too nervous being here alone, go to your parents' house. You're dad's gone for a while to God knows where and you won't have to deal with his shit."

"It's not so much that I'm nervous. It's just that I want you here with me."

He pulled me down onto the bed. "It'll just be a couple days. I'll come back as much the same as possible."

I sighed and pressed a kiss to his mouth. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He slipped his hand down my back. "We only have a little over an hour."

"So we need to take advantage of it." I kissed him again and then started moving my mouth across his jaw and down his neck. I sucked hard where his neck met his shoulder.

He groaned and tightened his arms around me. He sighed my name.

I wrapped my hand around his growing erection and started slowly moving it over him. I kissed across his shoulder and then back. I nibbled at his skin.

He was a little more vocal this time than he had been in the past. He said my name like a prayer. I kissed my way back up his body. I felt the tightening of all his muscles under my mouth.

He rolled me onto my back and thrust into my hand until he met his release. The warmth spilled onto my stomach. He kissed me over and over, murmuring against my lips how much he loved me.

My arms wrapped around him, pulling him on top of me. We kissed lazily for a long time.

He lifted his head and looked down at me. "Can I try something new? Would you be up for that?"

"What is it?"

He kissed me again. "Will you trust me?"

"Yes." I was confused about what he wanted to try. I went through my limited knowledge as he moved his mouth down my body.

I watched him as he gently kissed my hip. When he draped my legs over his shoulders, I finally got it.

Adrian smiled up at me. "Tell me to stop if you don't like it."

I nodded. I could feel myself growing ready for him. I ached. "Please."

He pressed his mouth into me and I gasped at the new sensation of his tongue flicking out over me. It was such a different feeling than his fingers. He pressed his mouth more into me and I felt his fangs brushing against me.

I put my hands over my face, embarrassed by the way I felt at the feeling of those teeth. "Oh, my god." I whined.

He moved his mouth away.

"No, don't stop yet." I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him back. I tangled my fingers in his hair.

I felt him chuckle into me as he continued.

The tension had reached its peak. This was familiar. I could feel the rope wanting to break free. I moaned and relaxed into the feelings my body was accustomed to. I had the sensation of falling and I let out a loud groan that ended in a whine. And then I was panting into the mattress. "Oh." I sighed.

He kissed his way back up my body and then pressed his mouth to mine. He stretched out beside me and I felt his hands moving lazily over my body. I stared at the ceiling, trying to come back to myself.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly.

"I think so." I turned my head. "That was something else entirely."

He laughed and kissed my shoulder. "I really do hate leaving you."

"It's something we need to get used to. Jill isn't leaving Court, especially not any time soon. And you and I are pretty well stuck here. We own a house."

"If you would give up your job, we could have a second house near Court and spend time both places."

"I like my job. You've just paid through the nose to buy this house. And we've got our wedding to think about. One of us should have a more steady income. I know you love your painting, but you haven't taken any commissions in a while."

"I'm working on one. My own. That painting of you. No one else matters right now." He kissed me. "Let's shower."

I followed him into the bathroom. I watched for a few moments as he turned on the water and then stepped inside. He picked up the soap and started washing himself. He smirked and watched me watch him.

I stepped in and reached to take the soap from him.

He jerked away playfully. "Let me."

I sighed, "I'm not helpless."

"I know you're not. But I really like your body. Let me touch you. It's the last time I'll get to do it for a few days."

I stepped closer and slipped my hands over the slick lines of his body. He washed me as I reminded myself of what his skin and the muscles underneath felt like under my hands in a completely nonsexual way.

His skin was smooth. There were no blemishes, unlike my own. His torso was covered in a thin layer of dark hair that thickened below his navel. He was slim in the way all Moroi are. I looked up and noticed flecks of paint in his hair.

I pushed him under the spray and wet his hair. I washed away the paint as he simply held me. "So I don't get to see it at all?" I asked as the last of the soap washed away.

"If you want to go take a look while I'm gone, you can. But it's not very good right now." He kissed me. "But I really wish you'd wait."

"We both have a lot of waiting then." I commented wryly as I rinsed my own hair.

He rested his hands on my hips. "That's for sure."

I pulled him down for a kiss. "I need to get you to the airport, sweetheart."

He groaned and rested his forehead against mine.

"Yeah, I know."

"Just a few days. Let's keep telling ourselves that."

"Okay." I brushed my lips across his and then stepped out of the shower.

I felt him hungrily watching me as I dried off. He stepped out and wrapped his arms around me. "Why is this so hard? I've done this before."

"Because our relationship is different now. A lot has changed. In a year or so, you're going to be chomping at the bit to take a break from me and go see your best friend. But now…" I caressed his cheek. "I'll miss you. But you'll be back soon enough."

He stepped away and wrapped a towel around his waist. "I will be."

* * *

I put my stings away in my apartment before I made my way to see Jill. She met me at her front door. She wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder. I took away the darkness. It wasn't as horrible as it had been in the past. Life was so much better now for both of us. And we both knew how to manage the stresses of being bonded.

When I pulled away, Jill was smiling. "Thank you. Lissa wants to see us."

"Of course she does. I can't even take a few minutes to catch up with you."

"We can a little on the way." She called over her shoulder. "Hey, Eddie?"

The guardian walked into the front hall. He held out his hand for me to shake.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Pretty good. I was charged with escorting you both to the palace." He explained.

"Lucky you." I teased.

Jill slipped her hand into his. "More like lucky me. He's always working."

"That's right, you started helping out at the school, didn't you?" I asked. We headed out.

"Yeah. I still have to take my turn with other duties." He was vigilant during the walk. His eyes were constantly moving. He kept his hand in Jill's.

"Is that what you want to do, though?"

"I don't know. Maybe. It's nice to help the next generation of guardians." He smiled a moment at his girlfriend. "And I'm still in charge of keeping her safe, so I get to go out whenever she does."

"That's good."

We made it to the palace and were escorted inside. I bowed low to Lissa. "Good evening, your majesty."

She smiled. "Hello, Adrian."

We exchanged the necessary pleasantries. I asked about her children and her husband. All were well.

"I understand that you bought a house." She said when we were done with the niceties.

I chuckled and took a seat across from her. "I did. _We_ did. My beautiful fiancée and I are now living together."

"Congratulations. Jill says it's pretty nice."

I looked sideways at my friend. "So you've been spying?"

She giggled. "I do it sometimes."

I shook my head. "It's very nice. We're very excited. And moving forward with the wedding plans."

"Did you bring the invitations?" Jill asked.

I draped my arm over the back of the couch. "I did. I know you wanted to see the options. Give your opinion. Be a complete girl about it."

"I want to see too." Rose said from the corner of the room.

"For someone who pretty much refuses to ever be married, you sure do like to get in the middle of other people's plans." Jill pointed out.

"I just don't _need_ to be married to Dimitri. We know what our relationship is." She sat down. "So?"

"They're in my bag, which is already in my apartment."

"Then let's take a field trip." Rose suggested. "Lissa hasn't left the palace today and I think she needs to get out among her people more often. Mostly so that _I_ can leave."

"You can leave whenever you want. I need to be near Chris."

She sighed. "You need more Lissa time. Your life has become about your people and your kids. And you need it to be just a tiny bit about you every once in a while. And you know you're curious."

She smiled. "You're right. And going out for an hour wouldn't be so bad." She looked to me. "As long as it's okay with you."

I shrugged. I really would prefer to go to my apartment alone and go to bed, but I was visiting a world with the complete opposite schedule. And Lissa and Rose were my friends and I valued their opinion almost as much as I did Jill's. And then of course there was Eddie who would probably give me the guy opinion that I needed.

We were stopped several times as people walking through the streets stopped to shake Lissa's hand or berate her for something that they didn't agree with. She welcomed both. She wanted people to know that they could come to her with their problems and she would help work on a compromise.

Once inside my apartment, I retrieved the invitations from my bag in my bedroom. Being in this apartment after almost a month of living in our house was weird. I felt cramped. I sent Sydney a text mentioning it.

"_This house is so much bigger when I'm alone._" She replied.

I put down a couple of invitations on the coffee table in front of everyone. They were simple. One was a cream and had traditional scrolling, loopy script. The other was more of a true white and had slightly fewer loops.

Rose picked them each up and felt of them. "I like the way this one feels." She said of the brighter one. "But I don't like the type."

"I don't know." Jill said. "Overall, this one has a very clean look."

"Clean?" I asked.

"Yeah." She held it out. "You know, like it's pure white. The type has no frills. I like it." She picked up the other one. "I love this one, though. The color is just right. And it's a nice mixture of the classic and the modern. Like Sydney's dress and your tux."

"You keep finding ways to tease me with that dress." I took the invitation from her. "We were kind of leaning toward this one."

Lissa held out her hand to me and examined the card. "I like it." She said after a while. "Mine had to be so fancy. It's nice to see something so pared down."

"And what does the other man in the room say?" Jill asked, grinning across the room at her guardian.

"They're both pretty." He said, taking them both as they passed them to him. "I guess the writing is better on this one."

"The cream one?" I asked.

"I don't see the difference in the whites."

Rose snorted. "Of course not." She snatched them up and held them against the wall. "This one looks brighter." She pointed. "You see?"

He shook his head. "Not really."

Jill grumbled. "Remind me to leave you out of this debate when our time comes."

He turned red. "That's not a done deal yet."

Rose laughed at her friend. "This is one of the many reasons I don't want to have to go through this. Dimitri's almost as hopeless as you."

I sent a text to Sydney as we continued to talk. "_They agree with us._"

"_Good. We'll order them._"

"_I miss you._"

"_I miss you, too. This bed is huge without you here._"

"_I'll be home soon, honey._"

Jill asked, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I think Sydney's a little nervous being alone in the house. She won't come right out and say it, though."

"Have you considered warding your new house?" Lissa asked.

"The thought crossed my mind, but I don't know how my fiancée would feel about that."

"I think it would be smart. You never know what you could encounter."

"I can say something if you want me to." Jill said. "Because I'd feel better about you both if there were wards up."

I looked down at my phone. "_Not soon enough._" Her reply read.

"I'll talk to her when I get back. Now that you guys have said something about it, I'm worried about her safety without me there."

"She can take care of herself." Jill said. "She has a talent for it."

I nodded. We never really told anyone about her magical ability, but I suspected they knew. We sometimes spoke of it vaguely when it came up around others. Mostly we kept it secret. Even all this time later, she was uncomfortable with what she could do. And she didn't like relying on that when there were other things she could do.

Thankfully, everyone left a short time later. Except for Jill. She always seemed to linger when I came to visit. The spare bedroom was her bedroom. I suspected she sometimes snuck in when she and her mom were at odds. I never asked because I felt she would stop out of embarrassment. I wanted her to always feel welcome.

She put her feet up in the coffee table and started flipping through the channels. "Can we have some popcorn?"

"Sure." I stood and stretched. A yawn escaped me. "I might go to bed soon." I put a bag of popcorn in the microwave.

She turned and stared over the back of the couch. "It's okay if I stay, isn't it?"

"As long as your mom doesn't care, Jailbait. Mi casa es su casa." I kissed the top of her head.

"I never really liked that nickname." She smiled, "But I guess since I can see your every thought, you get a pass."

I laughed. "Not my _every_ thought. I put some away."

She grinned. "I know how to break through your defenses."

"There's not a lot I want to keep from you, actually. You being able to see helps me confide in you. I never did that before."

"I know." She gave me a sweet smile. "Can you maybe put aside the big brother attitude for a bit so I can talk to you about Eddie? Sydney said I could talk to her, but I don't ever have a lot of privacy to make a phone call."

"Of course." I poured our popcorn into a bowl and sat down beside her. "Okay, gush." I relaxed against the couch as she started talking about the man she was falling in love with.


	29. Chapter 29

_Author's note: I have the wedding ceremony all planned out! We will get there soon. But that would mean the nearing of the end of this fic. It's been fun so far. I hope you like the rest of the journey._

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I walked into our dark, quiet house in the wee hours of the morning. After kicking off my shoes by the door, I walked up to the bedroom Sydney and I shared. She was asleep, curled up into a little ball on my side of the bed. Her face was pressed into my pillow.

I put my things down and started undressing as I walked toward the bed. "Sydney, baby, I'm home." I whispered as I picked up the blanket and moved in behind her.

She twitched when my arm moved around her.

"Sh, it's just me." I assured her, kissing her shoulder.

She rolled over and wrapped her arms around me. "How was the flight?"

I combed my fingers through her sleep-mussed hair. "It was fine. Got me back to you."

She snorted and pressed her face into my chest. "Could you be any more ridiculous?"

"Only because I love you and I really, really missed you." I tightened my hold on her. "Go back to sleep, honey."

She sighed and relaxed into me. She was back asleep in seconds.

I ran my fingers up and down her back for a long time until I was able to get to sleep myself.

* * *

I rolled out of bed when Sydney's alarm went off. "I'll make you breakfast while you get ready."

"I was just going to eat some cereal or something."  
"Or just drink a cup of coffee?" I teased. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her neck. "Let me make you pancakes or something."

"I'm not in the mood for pancakes, sweetheart." She moved her head to the side so I could reach her neck better.

"Then what are you in the mood for?"

"You're obviously in the mood for something I don't have time for." She broke out of my arms and disappeared into the bathroom. "I wouldn't say no to eggs and toast."

"Just the whites, right?"

"Yes, sweetheart, thank you."

"Anything for you." I watched through the open door as she undressed and got in the shower. "You're looking very hot today."

She laughed. "I thought you were making me breakfast."

"I'll get right on it." I watched her for a few more seconds and then left the room.

Sydney and I had perfect timing. Just as she walked into the kitchen, I put her eggs on a plate with a slice of lightly buttered toast. She took the plate and cup of coffee I held out to her and kissed me.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

I finished making my own breakfast and sat down beside her. "What would you think about putting wards up?"

"Did Jill ask you to?"

"She did. And Lissa. It would make them all more comfortable for Jill's visits. And my shadow-kissed counterpart said she would feel more comfortable for us if we had them put up."

"So how does it work?" She asked as she picked at her food.

"Please at least eat your toast."

"I've gained so much weight in the last year." She said softly.

"You look good, Sydney." I assured her.

"I don't always feel so good." She picked up her coffee and started sipping.

"I know."

"Tell me about the wards."

"We put a few stakes in the perimeter of our property. They're blessed with all the elements and I can add spirit. It will keep Stigoi out."

"Okay. Let's do it." She sighed. "I know a couple things we can add for extra measure."

I smiled, "I would appreciate the help from your side."

"I guess I should practice a little. It's been a while since I tried anything."

"You still have those charms?"

"Quite a few."

"You had them close while I was gone? I know we don't talk about it much, but I want you to be ready for anything."

"I will be, sweetheart. I'd just prefer not to do it if I don't have to." She took her plate and cup to the sink. "I have to get to work." She leaned down and kissed me. "Get some sleep, Adrian."

"Yes, dear. I'll have dinner ready when you get home." I pulled her down and kissed her again. "Have a good day."

"You too."

"I love you." I called to her back.

"I love you too." She said over her shoulder as she put on her coat.

I didn't sleep. I didn't want to mess up my schedule, but I was still tired from my journey. I drank a cup of coffee filled with milk and sugar. I took stock of our cabinets and decided to just make spaghetti. It was a staple in our house. We had it at least one night a week. Sydney ate mostly salad, but at least she tried for me. Most of the time.

Then I started the process of getting the wards placed. Most of the vampire world was still asleep, but I sent out e-mail inquiries and waited. I went into my studio to get some work done.

Sydney had the most amazing eyes. They were the center of a lot of my pieces. Amber with flecks of gold. Beautiful. I'd finished those first. They were the easiest. Those I knew. The rest of her, though, was something else entirely. I knew the shape of her under my lips and hands, every valley and peak. Especially her breasts, god, those were impressive. She hated the curves that better eating gave her, but I loved them. I loved every inch of her.

The painting I was working on was one of those candid moments I'd snapped in between poses. I stared at the photo taped to the corner of the canvas for reference.

She gave me a look that said, "Are you serious right now?" Her eyes, those golden amber eyes, danced in the late afternoon light streaming through the window. Her fingers were up in her hair, pushing it away from her face. Her other hand gripped the side of the tub as she repositioned herself. One knee was visible on the other side of the flowery shower curtain that was positioned just so it covered all her important bits I hadn't seen at that point.

I picked up my pallet, put some paint on it, and started working to fill in the rough sketch on the canvas that was still largely blank. It had taken me so long to pick the right pose.

"I'm home." Sydney called from the front door.

"Shit." I looked up at the clock and saw that I had let most of the day get away.

"I take it you got struck with inspiration." She smirked from the doorway.

"Sorry, honey, I was going to…"

"Hey, don't feel guilty about it. I'll cook."

"No, I'll do it. I said I would." I started putting my stuff away.

"Adrian, stop. I'll cook." She walked over and pulled me out from behind the easel. "Keep going. I'll get you when it's done." She kissed me and then walked out of the room.

I finished putting things away. I picked up my computer from the living room and walked into the kitchen. "How was your day?"

"Boring. Just standard stuff. What about you?"

"I sent off a few e-mails to get the ball rolling with the wards."

"I'll get some things together for the protection charm. Extra security. Mine will keep other malicious intruders out that aren't Strigoi."

"Are you sure about that?" I signed into my e-mail.

"I want us to be safe. And I laid out the spell at your rent house." She said sheepishly. "And mine."

"I think you're more comfortable with it than you let on." I teased.

"Only when it comes to setting up precautionary measures. Otherwise, I would rather not do it." She sat down beside me. "I'll do it tonight."

"Do you want my help?"

"You know I'd appreciate that." She turned my face to look at her. "Do you know how much I love you?"

"I bet I can guess. I bet it's close to how much _I_ love _you_."

"Pretty close." She pressed her lips to mine for a moment.

I smiled and rested my forehead against hers for a moment. Then I went back to my messages. "Looks like we can get someone here to do it in a couple days."

"Good." She kissed me again and got up.

"I can't wait to get you naked."

She laughed. "I need to be able to focus on the spell. So maybe you should wait for a while."

I felt a groan bubbling up, but I suppressed it.

* * *

I gathered the tools I needed for the protection charm. Adrian waited patiently at the bottom of the stairs. We headed outside. We walked around the perimeter of our property. I sprinkled a mixture of herbs and other necessities as I chanted the spell. Adrian followed me faithfully, helping me when he could.

When we were done he led me back inside and sat me down on the couch. I stretched out, leaning against the arm. He brought me a big glass of orange juice and I drank it greedily.

"More, please." I held out the glass.

He took it. "Sure." He brought it back filled again.

"You're an angel." I sighed as I sipped the second glass.

"Good to know you think that now. A couple years ago, I was the complete opposite." He smoothed my hair away from my face. "Can you make it upstairs?"

"You may have to help me." I finished the juice.

He helped me to my feet. When I stumbled, he wrapped his arms around me. "Steady there, baby." He murmured. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just exhausted. I haven't done that in a while."

He lifted me up into his arms. "So, bed. And we'll have to see about you being able to work tomorrow. I don't want you messing around in engines if you can't keep your eyes open."

He deposited me on the bed and started pulling at my clothes. "What are you doing?" I asked around a yawn.

"Trying to get you more comfortable." He slipped one of his shirts over my head. He leaned over and kissed me. "Get some sleep, Sydney. I'll be down in my studio if you need me."

I nodded and rolled over. I slept hard and didn't wake up until my alarm went off the next morning.

Adrian made me a hearty breakfast that I ate with more gusto than any other meal in my life. He tried to convince me to call in sick, but I actually felt so much better than when I'd passed out.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"I am. I'll try not to overdo it. If I start to feel bad, I'll call you."

"Want me to drive you?"

"If that would make you feel better." I brushed my fingertips over his cheek.

"It would." He kissed me. "Come on, celery stick. We gotta get going."

I snorted. "I'm going to need another cup of coffee."

"Anything for you, honeydew." He hurried to the coffee pot and filled a travel mug for me.

I laughed. "I sure do love you."

"And I sure do love you."

"No other odd endearments?" I teased.

"What do you want me to call you? Tomato? Kumquat? Fruit salad?" He handed me the cup and pressed a kiss to my mouth. "My beautiful bride to be."

"My very handsome and adorable husband to be." I kissed him back. "Come on, I need to be there in five minutes."


	30. Chapter 30

_Author's note: Did you read _Playing Hooky_? Remember the cat Yeats? Wonder when he first came to be? Read on to find out._

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Thirty

"Happy birthday!" Adrian announced when I walked into the house. He blew one of those annoying noise makers and threw confetti in the air.

I laughed. "Thank you." I pressed a kiss to his mouth as I brushed some of the stuff out of my hair.

"I made a cake! And I have tilapia ready to stick in the oven with just a hint of lemon pepper and olive oil, a nice salad of baby spinach and arugula, and some broiled sweet potatoes."

"That sounds delicious." I brushed my hands over his sides.

"And…" He kissed me and then gently picked up a package from beside the door. "Don't forget the present."

"You didn't have to get me anything. You bought the house."

"The house was for both of us. And our future children." He smirked. "This is your day."

I took the package and sat down on the couch. "I'd thought you'd forgotten."

"Of course not. But be careful with that. Don't shake it." He warned.

It was then that I noticed the holes in the box. And then I heard it moving around and crting softly. "You didn't."

"Maybe I did." He sat down beside me. "Open it up."

I tore into the package and peered in. There, staring up at me, was a small grey cat. "Hello there." I reached inside and Adrian took the box away. "Oh, he's so cute." I scratched behind his ears.

He climbed up my chest and onto my shoulder. He sniffed my hair and then pressed himself into my neck.

"They figure he's about six months old. They said he was brought in to be neutered and then no one ever came to get him. They tried calling, but no one ever returned their calls. That was about four months ago. They've just been hoping someone would come get him."

"So what should we call him? Hm? What is your name?" I held him up and looked into his sweet face. "Yeats."

"As in William Butler?"

"Yes." I giggled and held the cat to my chest. "Thank you. He's the best gift you've ever given me. But can I ask, why a cat?"

"Well, you're not sure you want real babies. So I figured we can have fur babies." He ran his hand over the cat's fur. "And I always liked cats."

I kissed him. "I'd really like a shower."

"Like a real shower or a, uh," he waggled his eyebrows, "sexy one?"

I laughed. "Can we have a real shower together? Is that possible?"

"Can I touch your boobs?" He asked anxiously.

I laughed. "I guess."

"So a real shower." He scratched the cat's chin. "He knows his way around the house already. I let him roam most of the day. And he's great about the litter box. They trained him at the shelter."

I scratched the cat behind his ears and sat him down on the floor. He looked up at me a moment.

Adrian pulled a ball out of his pocket and shook it. Yeats looked up at the sound and stood up on his hind legs, sniffing. Adrian gently threw the ball and the cat took off after it.

We watched for a little while as he played before Adrian pushed himself up off the couch. He hauled me to my feet and lifted me easily into his arms. He carried me up to our bathroom.

Actually holding true to his word, Adrian only helped me bathe and didn't try too much beyond that. He got out after a while and left me to my own devises so he could finish our supper.

Yeats made his way into the bedroom as I was dressing. He looked up at me and let out a soft meow. I kneeled down and ran a hand down his back. He purred quite audibly.

"Welcome to the family, Yeats." I stood. He rubbed against my leg and followed me out of the room, talking to me the entire way.

"I think he likes you." Adrian said when we appeared in the kitchen. He wore only a towel around his waist.

"Why aren't you dressed?"

"I didn't feel the need. It's your birthday. I'm going to give you what you want. And you know you want to see me wearing nothing but a towel." He struck a pose that was supposed to be sexy but mostly just looked absurd.

I laughed and hooked my fingers under the edge of the fabric. I pulled it away and dropped it on the floor. "Much better."

Adrian laughed and pulled me close.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as our new cat pounced on the discarded towel and started attacking it. I turned my head so I could get a better view. "He's so cute." I gushed as I watched him.

My fiancé groaned and pressed his face into my neck. "I'm standing here naked and the _cat_ gets your attention?"

I laughed and lifted his face. "I've seen you naked on several wonderful occasions. The cat is something new. And I'd actually like you to go up and get dressed so I'm not too distracted to eat."

He grinned and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. He left the room, scooping the towel off the floor. I got a wonderful view of his backside as he led the cat out of the room, shaking the towel behind him.

I ate almost all of the food off the plate Adrian made for me. My fiancé kept kissing me and touching me and giving me a look that said he was proud of my appetite. Yeats sat at our feet. It didn't help that Adrian kept feeding him bits of his fish.

"You're going to spoil him." I warned as I sat back and stretched.

"I already have been. Isn't that the point with children? Even ones covered in fur?"

I laughed at the excited gleam in his eye. "You got the cat for yourself, didn't you?"

"Well, I wanted one. And you like cats. And it's your birthday."

"So you got yourself a cat _my_ birthday?" I gathered a handful of his shirt and pulled him close to me for a kiss. "Well, I'm glad you did. And that you let me name him."

"Because you're good at naming things."

"You miss Hopper, don't you?" I teased.

"He could come back. You know he could." He encouraged gently.

I shook my head and kissed him again.

"Got room for cake and sherbet?" He asked, stealing yet another kiss.

"You sure do know the way to my heart." I reached for our plates and he stopped me.

"It's your birthday, honey. Relax." He cleared the table and made himself busy at the counter.

I held out my hand to Yeats as he looked off toward Adrian. "Come here, you."

The cat meowed and rubbed his head against my hand. He purred loudly. I picked him up and he curled into a ball on my lap just as my fiancé came over with a small cake. There was a single candle in the middle of it.

"Thank you for not reminding me how old I am."

"You're not that old. You're still in your twenties. Early twenties. So, no need to fret. Just make a wish and blow out your candle so we can eat cake."

I chuckled and closed my eyes. What to wish for? I smiled. I knew, of course. _I wish that Adrian and I have a comfortable life together._ Cheesy. Ridiculous. But it really was the thing I wanted most in that moment. I opened my eyes and blew out the candle.

"So what did you wish for?" He asked as he handed me a slice.

"Not supposed to tell. It won't come true." I took a bite of the cake. "Delicious."

He sighed and kissed me. "Mm, sugar."

I smiled. "Thank you for this."

"You are very welcome, Sydney. And after this, I'll rub your feet while you read whatever book is in the lineup."

"That sounds lovely, sweetheart."

He kissed me yet again.

I didn't eat much of the cake, but I inhaled the sherbet. Part of my mind was calculating all the calories I'd just consumed. The other part squashed that and I rubbed my fiancé's knee while I continued to pet the new cat.

I went to the room to retrieve my book. Adrian handed me a cup of hot chocolate and sat at the other end of the couch. He took one of my feet in his hands and started rubbing circles into the soles with his thumbs with the perfect amount of pressure. I opened my book and started reading.

Adrian snorted.

I looked over the cover at him. "What?"

"_What to Expect the First Time_." He read. "I thought you already knew all that."

"I want to be prepared." I went back to reading.

"Do you know there's such thing as _too_ prepared? You'll end up over thinking and freak out." He smirked. "You already know what it feels like to be pleasured."

"I do." I turned the page, trying to ignore him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked gently.

"Not right now."

"Why?"

"Because I'm thinking of all the practical things about it and you…"

"I like to think practically about physical things like that. Do you want to talk about it?" He asked again.

"I…No. Not until it's closer."

"Okay." He kissed my foot and then moved on to the next. "But if you have any questions, I could try to answer them."

"I know you could." I sighed and put the book down. "I don't want to think about that. Let's discuss wedding things. Our save-the-date cards need to be sent out this week. And we need to start looking for caterers and book a photographer."

"The invitations are on their way. I have most of the addresses, I think. We can work on that tomorrow. We're not working on our wedding on your birthday."

I smiled. "Do we still want to do breakfast foods for the reception?"

"I really did like that idea. It'll be something memorable."

"It would be. Carly was excited when I told her."

"I really like her. We should try to get her over for dinner one of these days. Isn't she seeing someone?"

"Yeah. His name is Stephen. She thinks it's real this time. I hope it is."

"We all can't be lucky, baby." He kissed my foot and then started rubbing my calf. "Let's see if they're free this weekend."

"I know she is. We have a fitting." I sat up. "Want to go to bed?"

He smiled. "I've been aching for you to ask." He kissed me hard. "But we don't have to go to bed, necessarily."

"Right here?" I stroked his cheeks.

"Why not?" He lowered himself to the floor. "Don't hold back."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I know you still are. Just a little." He pulled my hips toward the edge of the couch and pulled my pants down around my hips.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Talk to me. Tell me what you're feeling." He pressed a kiss to the inside of my thigh as he draped my legs over his shoulders.

"It feels too weird to say things."

"You'll find a way." He pressed his mouth into me. He started slowly.

"Oh." I sighed. "That's lovely."

He chuckled into me, making me shiver.

I tangled my fingers into his hair. "Can you go a little faster?"

He went on with gusto, his lips and teeth moving against me. Words escaped me. All I had left were incoherent noises. I pressed myself closer, cradling his head in my hands as my voice got louder and louder.

Adrian looked up at me and I tried to keep his gaze, but it was just all too much. My head fell back against the couch with a loud, low groan. My body shook and it was almost more than I could take. He held me close, kneading my hips as he helped guide me down.

I collapsed against the cushions and laughed. "It's still such a shock."

"I hope it stays that way for a while." He gently rubbed my legs.

I combed my fingers through his hair and watched him for a while. "It makes me sad sometimes how jaded you are."

"You've helped heal that. In a lot of ways. This being the least of them." He kissed my knee and then stood. "Let's take this upstairs." He lifted me into his arms.

"The lights."

"I'll come back and get them. You're my special queen tonight. You're feet aren't touching the floor unless it's necessary." He kissed me and then headed up to our room.


	31. Chapter 31

_Author's note: This chapter is chock full of adorable sweetness. I hope you're prepared!_

_I have it figured that there will be three more chapters after this and then an epilogue. So we're drawing to a close. It is actually my longest fanfic so far. Isn't that so cool?!_

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Thirty-One

"Jill is coming the second week in June and she can stay through July." Adrian announced, pouncing onto the bed.

I grumbled and rolled away. "It's the middle of the night, couldn't this wait?"

Yeats gave a disgruntled meow from the pillow beside my head. He tucked his face back under his paw.

"Sorry. I thought you were still awake." He kissed my cheek and gave the cat a scratch behind the ears. "Go back to sleep, baby."

I pressed my face into my pillow. "We need to set up the cake appointment, then."

"Wedding stuff always on your mind. But don't worry, I got this covered. I know some people. I'll call around tomorrow while you're at work." He kissed me again and then settled in on the other side of the bed.

I rolled toward him once again when his light was out. I reached out and found his hand in the dark. "Good."

That night, I dreamed I was in a church. I wore my wedding dress. I walked toward Adrian at the top of the aisle. He was in a tux with a bow tie. I already knew that detail in real life because I'd caught my fiancé practicing tying one. He looked so incredibly handsome. He smiled sweetly. But just as I reached him, I woke up.

I said a string of curses under my breath as I reached over and turned it off. I stretched and looked over to see Adrian was still snoozing away. I heaved a sigh and got out of bed.

When I got out of the shower, he had moved. His eyes were half open, watching me as I dressed and moved around the room.

Yeats was stretched out beside his head. He moved when I came back in. He stretched and yawned.

I smiled at the cat. "Are you going to stay in bed a while?" I asked Adrian as I pulled my hair back.

"I was thinking about it." He mumbled, his eyes completely closed again.

I leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Go ahead and sleep, sweetheart. I'll come back up to say goodbye before I go."

He nodded and then caught my hand. "Please eat something."

"I will. I promise."

He kissed my hand. "I just worry. You've taken a large backslide the last few weeks."

"I felt horrible in my dress the last time I put it on." I admitted.

He pulled me down on the mattress and sat up. "Did it fit?"

"Yes."

"Was it too tight anywhere?"

"Not really."

"Then don't freak out too much. It'll be fine. You look great. Please eat breakfast. A _good_ breakfast."

"I will, sweetheart." I kissed him and then got up. "Go back to sleep."

Yeats followed me out of the room. I filled his bowl and reluctantly went about making breakfast for myself. I chose oatmeal. It wasn't so bad for me and it would stick with me for a while.

As I sat down, Adrian came into the room, scratching his messy hair. He smiled, kissed the top of my head, and then started assembling his own breakfast. The cat rubbed against his leg.

"I thought you were going to sleep." I said as I ate.

"I couldn't." He sat down beside me with a bowl of cereal. "I need to go to the feeder today. Then I'll do some errands."

"Are you sure you don't want to hire one? It would be so much more convenient."

"Convenient for me. But then we'd have to house and feed an extra person who would only be needed for a couple minutes a day. It's not that far out of my way to go to the feeder house once a week or so. And I need to do some things around town anyway."

"Okay." I stirred the last of the contents of my bowl around.

"Not to mention how uncomfortable the thought actually makes you." He put his hand on top of mine. "But thank you."

We ate in silence for a while. I looked up at the clock after a while and sighed. "Time to get going."

* * *

Adrian stopped by at lunch looking fresh. The actual thought of a feeder gave me the creeps, but what it did for his health and his looks and demeanor were worth the uneasy feeling.

"Hello, gorgeous." He kissed me. "How's it going?"

"It's going." I chuckled. "You look like you feel a lot better."

"Oh, I do." He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. "Got time for some fresh air?"

"I think so. Let me get my lunch and some coffee."

We sat at a picnic table on the side of the garage. It was shady there, so no fear of Adrian becoming ill. It was a nice late spring day. There was a little chill to the air, but otherwise it was perfect. I offered my fiancé part of my sandwich, but he refused.

"I'm good for now, thanks." He put his hand on my knee and pressed his face into my neck. "Much better."

I nudged him with my shoulder. "So what are you up to today?"

"Mostly looking into bakers that will be free to fly to Pennsylvania for the week of our wedding, all expenses paid."

"Any takers yet?" I sipped my coffee.

"Not just yet. They're all booked. But I think I can sweet talk this one lady. I called and asked if the week was open and she said it was. So we shall see. I have an appointment with her this afternoon to discuss the logistics. We can do actual design talk when we go to the tasting."

"Which will happen next month because that's when Jill will be here, right?"

"Yes." He kissed my neck and then my check and finally sat back. He wrapped an arm around my waist. "So, little grease monkey, when do we want to go look for the rings?"

"Can we go this weekend? I'm kind of itching for it." I reached up and combed my fingers through his hair. "And _I_ want to buy them. Let me contribute _something_. I've made the decisions and then you pay for them. But on this, I want to do it."

"Okay. I like the sound of that. What do you have in mind?"

"I'd like the same scroll as my engagement ring, or at least the feel. For both of them."

"Can we have solid rings so we can engrave them?"

"What are you thinking?"

"I'd like mine to say something about our forever love. Or something equally as romantic. 'Sydney my heart' or something."

I grinned at the adorable, unsure smile he had on his face. I pressed a kiss to his mouth. "'Adrian my inspiration.'" I kissed him again. "I like that. Let's do it."

He moved sideways on the bench and placed his hands gently on the sides of my face. He didn't say anything, just looked into my eyes. He kissed my forehead and each of my cheeks before he brushed his lips across mine. "Perfect."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and draped my legs over his. I put my face close to his. My lips were only a breath away. I said softly, "Five months. Less than that now, actually."

His hands rested on my waist. "I can't wait. I love you so much, Sydney." He closed the space between us, his lips were so soft against mine. "Sydney Sage Ivashkov." He mumbled and then kissed me again.

"It's okay that I kept Sage, isn't it?" We shared another kiss.

"It's perfectly fine. And it will be even better when you sign it on the marriage license."

I moved a little closer and rested my head on his shoulder. "We're getting married. It's still so weird sometimes. I look at you and I just remember the first time I saw you and how incredibly frightened I was."

"I remember that too. But I was scared for different reasons. I was scared of being attracted to you because I had just had my heart broken by Rose. There was something about your aura that told me you would save me. And you did." He kissed my neck. "A thousand times over."

"I kind of like it when we get like this." I said softly. I started combing my fingers through his hair.

"Me too." He kissed my neck again and then sat back. He pressed his lips to mine. "I think your lunch break's almost over."

"I think you're right." I sighed and kissed him again. I moved away and stood, stretching. "I'm so glad it's Friday."

"Me too. I suggest we gather all the necessary food and drink for two full days and hide away in our house. Watch movies. Snuggle on the couch." He wrapped his arms around my waist and looked up at me. "What do you say?"

I brushed his hair back. "I say it's the best idea you've had in a while. And we need to get all the lovey-dovey out before Jill and the others get here." I kissed his forehead. "Now let me go."

He unwrapped his arms. "I'll see you at home."

I kissed him again and then went inside to complete my work day.

* * *

"We have a cake designer!" Adrian proclaimed when I walked through the door.

I laughed and hung my keys on the hook. "And the designer is coming to Pennsylvania?"

"Yes." He gave me a quick kiss as Yeats rubbed against my leg.

"A lot of love from both my guys." I cupped Adrian's cheek and rubbed my thumb across his skin for a moment. Then I reached down and picked up the cat. He started purring as soon as I had him against my chest. "Hello, handsome." I crooned as I scratched his head.

I walked into the kitchen so my fiancé could get back to making supper.

"Tell me about the designer." I prompted.

"Her name is Patty. Her shop is called Patty Cakes. Isn't that cute?"

I chuckled. "Adorable."

"She has family in Pennsylvania and has wanted to make a visit there for a long time. This will give her a bit of an excuse. I told her we'd fly her along with any supplies she needs. She said she can bake all the cake necessary and bring it along and then assemble when she gets there. I set up an appointment for a tasting and design consultation."

"I'll let Carly and Mom know. It's okay if my mom comes, isn't it?" I asked uncertainly.

"Of course, honey. I like your mom. And she's hot for me. If she were twenty years younger…" He growled.

"You should add 'and not your mother.'" I warned.

He laughed. "And not your mother, I would win her over. Just like I won you."

"She was a lot easier to convince than I was."

"Well, I'm sure it helped that you were already in love with me and she just wants the best for you." He walked over and sat a pan in the middle of the table. "Chicken Marsala!" He announced. He went back over to the counter and brought back a bowl. "And wild and brown rice pilaf with cranberries."

"This looks so good." I said, pushing the cat away.

"I hope it tastes as good as it looks. I plan on having dinner ready for you at least one day a week. That's my promise for you." He leaned down and kissed me.

"And I'll share in the cooking. And the cleaning."

"And the childrearing?"

I shook my head. "Let's eat. I'm starved."

He smiled and kissed me again. He nudged Yeats out of the way as he went back and forth to the cabinets.

"How can I help?" I asked.

"By relaxing." He sat a couple glasses of water on the table and then the plates.

As we ate, Adrian passed bits of chicken to the cat. "You know, he's not going to want to eat his own food if you keep feeding him ours. Are cats even supposed to have food cooked in wine?"

He shrugged and gave me a smirk. "Doesn't he deserve to be spoiled?"

"If he gets sick, you're taking him to the vet. _And_ giving him all his medications."

"I will." He gave the cat another bite.

I sighed and went back to my meal. "This is delicious. Especially the rice."

"I'm glad you like it." He put his hand on my knee and pressed his face into my neck. "I want to get you up to bed."

"Can we try something new?"

He sat up and looked at me, excitement brightening his face. "What?"

"Take a bath together?" I said slowly.

"Yes. Yes, that sounds perfect." He put his plate on the floor for Yeats.

The cat was very happy to have the last few bites of Adrian's dinner.

I laughed. "I didn't mean to excite you."

"Every time you breathe it excites me. Every time you blink. When you smile at me or give me that look that says you think I'm impossible."

"You very often are. Especially right now." I kissed him softly and then started clearing the table.

He stopped me. "I've got this. You go get the bath ready."

I chuckled and handed him my plate.

He immediately put it on the floor for the cat.

"Adrian!" I warned.

"Chill, baby." He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close. He pressed his hips into mine and gave me a lingering kiss. "He'll be okay."

I groaned and put my hands on the side of his face. "You're going to drive me crazy."

"I'm already there. I'll finally have good company."

I laughed and kissed him. "Leave the dishes." I turned and dragged him out of the room.


	32. Chapter 32

_Author's note: I put a post on my Tumblr (booksrockmyface) about the inspiration for the wedding bands. If you want to take a look, head over there. There are only a couple more chapters left. I'm going to try to write them today (at least one more). Thank you for reading and for all the favorites, follows, and reviews.__ Keep 'em coming!  
_

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Thirty-Two

Adrian pulled into a space in front of the jewelry store and turned to me. He put his hand on the back of my head and pulled me to him for a kiss.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed back. I pulled away after a short time.

He rested his forehead against mine. "So this is kind of it." He said softly.

"It kind of is. These rings…" I rested my hand on the side of his face.

"They'll bind us together when we take our vows."

I kissed him once more and got out of the car. He walked around toward me and I wrapped my arm around his waist "I'm going to get a chain to wear mine around my neck during the day. I don't want to leave it in the car. And I know both of us would feel more comfortable if I didn't wear it while I work."

"We'll make sure to get a heavy-duty-won't-break-under-any-circumstance chain."

"And I will wear it under my coveralls _and_ my shirt." I pushed the door to the store open and we walked to the counter.

"Good afternoon." A kind young man greeted us from a few feet away. He was with another customer. "I'll be right with you."

"Take your time." Adrian said, leaning over the case. "So," he took my left hand and examined the engagement ring. "Hmm."

"Hello, what can I help you with today?" The man walked over.

"We're here to find our wedding bands." Adrian announced. "Something with a similar feel to my lovely fiancée's engagement ring." He held out my hand. "We purchased it here about a year ago."

He took my hand and examined the ring. I read "Jason" on his name tag. "Oh, yes, I know this one. I have the perfect set to match it." He put my hand down gently and walked several feet away, looking down at the case until he found what he was looking for. He unlocked the door and reached inside.

We walked over and met him.

"The display is in yellow gold, but we can also have them made in white gold or platinum. Or we can even do a combination. The scroll is very similar to your engagement ring." He held out the rings for us.

Adrian took one and held it close. "I think this is pretty damn near perfect." He slipped it on his left hand. "Oh, and I guess this is my ring size." He chuckled and looked down at it. "This is weird."

I chuckled and slipped the other on. "So if we did the combination, we could have white gold on the outside?"

"If that's what you'd like." Jason said.

"Getting the feel for it?" I asked Adrian as he twirled the ring around his finger.

He laughed. "Starting to." He looked up. "Can we talk about it a minute?"

"Sure." He walked away to help a new customer who had walked in.

"I like it." He said as soon as we were alone. He picked up my hand. "It's perfect with the engagement ring. I like how it feels." He lifted his own hand and looked at the ring once more.

"What do you think about the white gold on the outside?" I stroked the ring on his finger. "Yellow inlay?"

"I think that would be really pretty."

"And the inscriptions?"

He grinned. "If you still want to."

"I do."

"Okay." He took the ring off his finger and nodded to Jason.

"Have you made your decision?"

We spent a long time talking about the particulars. We wanted to get them right. Jason was even able to open up a program on the computer and show us how the final product would look. Our rings would be ready in a few weeks.

"So now it feels weird _not_ to have it on." Adrian commented as we walked out to the car. He handed me the keys.

I took them. "Thank you."

"Thank _you_, Sydney." He pressed me against the side of the car. "God, you make me so…" He chuckled. "So happy. So content. So…_grounded_. I am so much in love with you, Sydney. These next few months won't go by fast enough."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder. "We'll make it. We have plenty to do to keep us busy until then." I kissed his jaw and then scooted out from under him. "We need to get the addresses for the invitations. We need to pick up the invitations. We need to get our music selections made. I think that one's going to be the hardest seeing as we both have disastrously diverse tastes."

"Our first dance will be a Cole Porter song." He got into the passenger seat.

"Is it?" I smirked. "And you're just deciding that without consulting me?"

"Of course. You like Cole Porter. You made me watch that movie." He leaned toward me and put his hand on my knee. "I think we should go home and take out our libraries and compare."

"Sounds good."

We spent a large part of the afternoon going through our music. Adrian blasted Pink Floyd and ACDC. I put on a lot of mellow stuff. The closest we got to compromise was my guilty pleasure of Pat Benatar.

"I still can't believe you like this." He said as he danced around to Hit Me With Your Best Shot.

"My mom used to play her tapes all the time." I shrugged. "It's my childhood."

"We should just do an 80s dance party."

"Dimitri will like that." I chuckled. "But if I remember correctly, you _can_ dance for real."

"And?"

"Let's throw in a few old standards so we can have fun dancing cheek-to-cheek."

"Okay. So the first song?"

I pushed the button to change the song on Adrian's computer. Cole Porter's In the Still of the Night started playing. It was the version from the movie DeLovely that I had forced Adrian to watch. He actually liked and it and had immediately purchased the soundtrack.

"This one?"

"This one." I stood and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

He put his hands on my waist and we started swaying together. He took my right hand in his left and started spinning me around the room, barely dodging the furniture. When the song was over, he dipped me low and kissed me. He didn't break it as he lifted me upright. He mumbled against my lips, "I like it."

"Good." I kissed him again, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He led me to the couch and stretched out. He pulled me on top of him. He continued to kiss as the next song came up on the shuffle. Some heavy metal number that wasn't particularly entertaining to me. I focused on the kiss and the way his hands roamed hungrily over my body.

His phone rang. He groaned and broke the kiss. "What's up, Jill?"

I could hear her on the other end. I rested my forehead against his.

"I've got a giant final coming up next week and I need to concentrate. Could you calm down a bit?" She begged.

"You know how to block."

"There's too much going on in my head and it's still something I need to concentrate on."

"Okay. We'll just be boring tonight and put on a movie or something." He sighed. "Sorry."

"It's fine." She replied with her own sigh.

"Good luck. Don't stress, you're smart. And know that I love you no matter how good you do on your exam. You're still my best lady."

"Thanks. I love you, too. Say hi to Sydney."

"Hello, Jill." I called into the phone.

"Did you hear that?" Adrian asked.

"I did." She sighed. "Talk to you later."

He threw his phone onto the table and wrapped his arms tightly around me. "What do you want to do?"

"I'm in a mood to watch a dance movie."

"Go pick one, then." He said grudgingly.

"You know you like them." I said as I rolled off him.

* * *

"We want the standard three tiered round white cake." I explained as soon as we all sat down.

"Okay." Patty chuckled and wrote that down. She was a pleasant woman and I liked her the instant I met her. "Any other preferences?"

"We don't want anything flashy or too complicated." Adrian went on. "We like classic flavors, but we're willing to try anything you want to put in front of us. Especially me. I love sweets."

Everyone laughed.

"Well, I've got plenty to show you, then." She walked over to a counter and came back with a tray of small slices of cake enough for everyone. "We have here chocolate cake with raspberry filling. The frosting is a cream cheese."

"Not a huge fan of the frosting." Carly said, making a face and taking a gulp of water. "But the rest is nice."

"I don't like raspberries." Jill said softly.

"We better make sure _you're_ happy." Adrian poked her arm. "It's delicious, but I guess since the maid of honor and the best lady have objections, this will be a no." He gave her a dazzling smile.

"That's fine." She took the plates away and walked out again.

We tried several other cakes. There were good points about all of them. They were delicious. I didn't think we'd ever be able to come to a decision. We had every type of chocolate and vanilla cake and even a few that were unexpected. The last was one of those.

"This is my thought on the perfect cake for a fall wedding. Apple spice cake, caramel buttercream frosting, and a brown sugar mousse between the layers. I know the caramel won't be the traditional white you're going for, but we can make it work."

"This is different." I said slowly.

"Very." Adrian agreed.

Eddie quickly cleaned his plate and ate what was left on Jill's. He'd done that through most of the tasting. He even helped himself to the leftovers on mine a few times.

"It's still kind of neutral." I said looking around the table at the appreciative looks.

"But not too sweet really." Adrian pointed out.

"I love the caramel frosting." Mom said, licking her fork.

"It's good." My sister agreed.

I looked to Adrian. "I think we need to talk about this."

He nodded.

Everyone awkwardly left the table so Adrian and I could talk.

"I really liked the lemon one." Mom said with a wink as she walked away.

Even Patty left us alone. She said she'd be back in a few minutes.

"That last one was interesting." I said as soon as they were all gone.

"But do we want interesting?"

"I don't know."

We contemplated it in silence for a while.

I finally said, "The sponge cake with the strawberries was nice."

"It was. Simple, like we wanted." He patted my hand. "Did you like that one the most?"

"That's the one that kind of stands out. It was perfect in its simplicity. And I have an idea."

"What idea?"

"I think one tier can be chocolate instead of vanilla. I know we have to know a few chocoholics on the list if invitees." I rested my head on his shoulder. "I can't believe this is all happening. This is the biggest representation of us that everyone gets to try."

"Yeah. I know. The ceremony, the meal, those are all things that people just muddle through most of the time. The cake is the thing they all look forward to."

"So, this is what we're going with?"

"I think so."

I smiled and nodded. "Me too."

He lifted my head off his shoulder and kissed me.

Patty walked back in and looked at us expectantly. "Can I come back in?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Yes, we've made a choice." Adrian informed her.

"And I have a sketch." She sat down across from us and sat down a rough drawing in front of us. "I saw your engagement ring and got inspired to throw in a few loops and swirls."

"We've got on our bands, too." My fiancé said. "I love it."

"I do too. It's gorgeous." I supplied.

"I'll sit down and do a more detailed drawing later today and you can approve it." The designer said.

"That'll be fine."

She took a few notes on the sketch as we talked about the flavors we decided on. She was very excited to be doing the cake. And for the trip to see her family. Adrian asked her a little about them and she told us, but stopped short.

"I won't bore you with it all. And besides, you have people waiting. I'll get this drawn up and give you a call. I can send it through the computer or you can come back. It's up to you."

"We'll come back." Adrian assured her. "My sister will drive us crazy soon enough." He smiled affectionately at the mention of Jill.

She insisted on a hug for us both, something I know Adrian enjoyed.

We joined the others and told them what we decided on. Carly gave us a genuine smile and said she was glad we made a choice that made us happy.

My mom hugged me close for a long time. "Your dad loves strawberries." She said sadly.

"I remember." I sighed and stepped back. "Has he said anything about changing his mind?"

She shook her head.

Adrian wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground.

I loved the sound of her laughter as she begged him to put her down.

He finally did. "You did a good job with her." He assured my mother.

"I did the best I could." She squeezed his shoulders.

He moved away, suddenly looking awkward.

I slipped my hand into his. "After all that cake, I could go for a cup of coffee. Anyone else?"

We piled into our cars and headed out to a local coffee shop. We hung out for well over an hour, talking and joking. Mom and Carly had a good time telling stories from my childhood. One story, where I had put on an elaborate play with our cats and cried when Carly told me it was the dumbest thing ever, had me wanting to crawl into a hole in the ground.

Adrian kindly reciprocated, including a tale of how he once stripped down to nothing and ran around the house. He refused to get dressed and even ran out of the house, embarrassing his harsh father far more than it embarrassed eight-year-old Adrian.

My mom got a call from my father. I could hear him screaming at her. I knew he was upset over the company she was keeping. She smiled and excused herself from the table to take it outside.

Adrian squeezed my hand and rested his forehead against mine. "I love you." He whispered.

"Me too." I kissed his cheek and then followed my mom outside.

"No, you listen, Jared." She was saying. "This is our daughter. I will spend time with her outside of work if I want to." She paused and I saw her jaw clenched. "We'll talk about this when I get home." She waited again. "Well, you have a great way of showing it." She hung up and leaned against the wall.

"Mom?" I said softly.

She forced a smile. "Yes, baby?"

"Everything okay?"

"It's fine. Your father's just being…Don't worry about it." She draped her arm over my shoulders. "I should go."

I nodded. I felt the ache in my chest that always came with thinking about my father. There was no way I could make him love me.


	33. Chapter 33

_Author's note: Okay, y'all, this is the penultimate chapter. You ready for it? There are a couple spoilers in here, but I tried not to make them giant because I know at least one of my readers hasn't had a chance to read The Indigo Spell yet, but if you have, you know what it means. _:)

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Thirty-Three

"I am freaking out." I said into the phone.

"Please just breathe." Jill prompted.

"Okay." I took in a large breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. The dress is already there, yes?"

"Yes. I looked it over myself. It's in great condition. If there are any problems, I can fix it."

"I've got my shoes and everything else. Adrian has the rings."

"Honeymoon luggage?"

"Yes, the honeymoon clothes are in a separate bag."

"Passport?"

"I've checked on it ten times. It's in my carryon."

"Then you're all set. Why are you freaking out?"

"Because I'm getting married in four days." I sat down hard on the bed.

"To a man who loves you. He wants you. He's happy to be marrying you. Keep breathing."

"I'm trying. This is just…Like…I don't know."

"You're already living together. You already changed your last name. You're just standing in front of everyone and declaring the decision you made. You'll be fine. Now get your act together and get your ass here. I want to see my two bestest friends in the whole wide world get married."

I laughed. "You always say the right thing, Jill. Thank you."

"I do what I can."

After hanging up with her, I walked downstairs to find Adrian leaning against the door to his studio.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He tapped his chin with his forefinger. "Trying to decide something."

"What?"

"If I should show you the painting now or make you wait until we get back."

"You're not bringing it to Pennsylvania?"

He smiled. "There's too much to stress over already. So do you want to see it now or wait another two weeks?"

I walked over. "Out of my way."

He laughed as he opened the door and waved his hand for me to enter. I walked over to the easel. He had draped a cloth over it. He took me by the shoulders and moved me a little. He walked over to stand beside it. He put his hand on the cloth and gently pulled it away.

The first thing I noticed was that he caught me in a moment when I wasn't expecting to be photographed. I stepped closer. The detail was breathtaking. He had even included the little mole I had on my knee.

"Oh, Adrian." I said softly. "You've…" I had no words. I turned to my husband and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Thank you."

His arms came around me as he covered my mouth with his own. He kissed me slowly, thoroughly. His lips were soft. His tongue silky smooth.

I broke the kiss and rested my forehead against his.

"I put all my love into that painting. I'm glad you like it."

"I like it a lot. But I don't know if I want people to see that slight curve of my breast." I turned to the portrait and pointed.

"It's tasteful. I think it's something both of us can be proud of." He ran his hands down my sides and over my hips. "You have an amazing body, Sydney. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

I smiled and wiped away an unexpected tear. "Then we should start searching for the perfect spot right away."

"Maybe after…" he pressed his mouth to mine once more.

I broke the kiss. "Unfortunately, we have a plane to catch. And we have to get my mom and sisters."

"Oh. Right." he kissed me again.

"I think I have everything."

"Good." He put his hands on the sides of my face. "You are so beautiful."

"You're not so bad yourself." I gave his bottom a quick slap and then walked out of the room.

"You're getting feisty." He said appreciatively from behind me. "I like it."

I laughed. "I'm glad." I picked up a couple of my bags. "Let's get going."

I could hear the yelling from inside my parents' house as we walked up to the front door. I tried to get Adrian to stay in the car but he insisted on helping with my family's luggage.

"I said no!" My father yelled. "Zoe stays here."

"Zoe's made promises. It's one of the good things you've taught her." My mother countered.

I opened the door without knocking and saw my mother and father facing off. My father had a grip on Zoe's arm. Carly stood off to the side looking helpless.

"She's still under eighteen. I'll say where she goes." He shook my sister's arm.

"She already has one assignment under her belt. She can take care of herself."

"She can't take care of herself and she's _not_ spending social time with any of _them_. I refuse to let it happen."

"Can you please stop yelling?" I asked, walking into the middle of the room.

"You aren't welcome here." My father sneered. "Either of you." He turned back to my mother. "If you and Carly want to go, then get your asses out of here. Zoe stays behind."

"Did you even ask what Zoe wanted to do?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"She doesn't know what she wants."

"She's an adult."

"She's my charge. I couldn't keep you in the organization, but I'll be damned if I'll sit back so you can brainwash her."

"Dad, please." Zoe said softly. "I want to go. I promised Zoe I'd be her bridesmaid. I have a dress and everything. Please let me go. After this, I won't have anything to do with them. I won't even go to the reception. Please let me do this just this once. I'll never ask you for anything else again."

He watched her for several tense silent moments. Then he let go of her arm and stormed toward me. He got in my face and said softly, "This is the last time I will ever tell you this. You are not allowed in my house. You are not allowed around Zoe after this. If I so much as find an email from you, I am pressing charges. Do I make myself clear?"

"Hey, you need to show some respect." Adrian said, taking a step toward him. "You don't have an ounce of knowledge about what she's gone through in her life."

He rounded. "You don't talk to me like that." He clenched his jaw and then walked out of the room.

"Let's hurry up and get out of here." Carly said. "I don't even know why I bother coming over anymore." She picked up a bag from the corner and stormed out of the house.

The car ride was silent. My mother clenched her teeth. I saw the tears glistening in her eyes.

"I'm sorry you all had to see that." She said as we pulled into the airport.

We all said it wasn't a big deal. We all knew Jared was a jerk, but it was hard to see him take it out on someone that wasn't you. When it was me, I could handle it. I know the same was true with my sisters and my mother.

Mom and I sat together for a while once we were in the air. We were silent. Adrian leaned over the back of his chair and joked with Carly and Zoe. My older sister was engaged. My younger sister tried very hard not to be interested, keeping to her promise to our father.

"I don't know how much longer…" My mother started. She shook her head. "I don't want to talk to you about this."

"Mom, you don't have to, but if you want to talk, I'll listen."

She patted my hand. "I know you would. Let's not worry about that. This is _your_ time. You'll be a Mrs in a few days."

"Do you really like him?" I asked, watching my soon-to-be and sisters for a while.

"I do. I really do."

* * *

The next several days, Jill had me busy trying out hair styles and make-up. I told her it wasn't a big deal, but she assured me it was. We also took a lot of time talking with Patty about the cake and with the caterers about all the food. They seemed happy that the meal was a relatively easy one. All they really had to prepare beforehand were the meats and the batters for pancakes and waffles.

"I think we're ready." I said, putting my hands on Adrian's waist.

"I hope so. It's tomorrow."

I felt the smile spread across my face and pushed myself up on my toes. "Tomorrow." I kissed him softly.

"Have fun." He whispered.

"And what are you going to be doing?"

"I think Eddie has some video games in mind. I really don't have anything else I _want_ to do. I mean, a drink would be nice, but I'm holding off for your sake and for Jill's and for mine. I want to remember making my promises to you."

"I want you to remember them too."

"What do you girls have planned?" He asked, smoothing my hair away from my face.

"A good old-fashioned middle school slumber party. It was Jill's idea."

"Will there be pillow fights in your underwear?"

I laughed. "Oh, if only the bond went both ways." I kissed him and then walked to the door. "You have to leave now. And I'll see you tomorrow evening."

He pushed me against the door frame. "We're getting married."

"We are." I pulled him down for a kiss.

"Hey, now, none of that." Jill said as she walked down the hall. She had a board game under her arm. "You have plenty of time to do that after you're married. You need to go away, Adrian. It's ladies' night. Carly and Zoe are on my heels."

My sisters walked out of their hotel room down the hall a moment later.

"I have some guy things to do anyway. You know, howl at the moon and beat my chest and objectify women." He kissed me once more. "The next time I do that, you'll be my wife." He whispered. He turned to Jill and grabbed her shoulders. "Have fun. But not too much."

"Promise." She turned her head. "How about a kiss for your favorite water user?"

He chuckled and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, kid." He hugged both my sisters. "Where's your mom?"

"She'll come over in a bit." Carly said. "She was talking on the phone. I think with Dad."

He looked over his shoulder a moment and then nodded. "Have fun tonight, ladies." He bowed and walked away.

I watched until he turned the corner. Then I waved everyone inside.

"Do you think Mom and Dad are going to get a divorce?" Zoe asked as Jill set up Monopoly.

"I don't know. She really does love him, Zo." Carly said.

"Yeah, but he can be such an asshole."

"Zoe!" I admonished.

She shrugged. "Well, he can be."

There was a knock on the door. "It's your mother."

Jill jogged to the door. "And Rose."

The guardian smiled and waved. "Hope you don't mind if I come crash your party for a little while."

"Of course not." I assured her. "You're the guardian on duty here, right?"

"One of them. Since your guy has Eddie." She smirked and walked around the room. I could tell she was doing more than just taking a random look.

"Are we safe, Guardian Hathaway?" I asked when she plopped down on the bed.

She chuckled. "Completely. So what sort of debauchery are you ladies up to tonight?"

"Monopoly." Jill announced glumly. "Sydney could have picked any game in the world and she chose Monopoly."

"It has a special place in my heart." I smiled.

"I know it does. But it's so boring!" She laughed.

"Not boring when you don't remember any of the roads."

"He was a little drunk that night." She pointed out.

"What are you two talking about?" Zoe asked.

I blushed. "One of the things a spirit user can do is walk into people's dreams. Adrian came into mine several nights in a row once. We played Monopoly because that was a game we remembered the board to. But one night he'd had a little too much to drink so the board was blank in places and others had made up names. Jill can see because of their connection."

Rose joined us for the game. She had told the other guardians that she would watch the room so they wouldn't have to "deal with the women." I think she used it as an excuse to have a little fun while on duty.

The game got pretty competitive. Jill and I were in the lead when we took a break to order room service. I pulled Mom aside.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"It's fine." She assured me.

"No, it's not."

She sighed. "Dad and I are going to sit down and have a long talk when I get back."

"And?"

"And you don't need to worry about it. Dad and I will figure it out."

Our food arrived. We sat around the room in various places to eat.

Carly said, "So the big question we are all dying to know is when did you know you were in love with Adrian?"

I smiled into my plate. "It happened when I was doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing."

Jill laughed. "Didn't you do a lot of that while we were in California?"

"Well, yeah." I laughed. "But this was something big. Anyway, it just hit me. And I ran to him. He'd already been declaring his love to me for a while. I just finally gave in."

"That's so sweet." Zoe gushed.

"Yeah." Carly sighed.

Mom smiled at me. I saw something wistful in her eyes, like she was remembering something from a long time ago. Was she thinking about Dad? How she had fallen in love with him?

After a few more rounds of Monopoly and girl talk, Mom left to go to bed. The rest of us lasted a little while longer. Rose moved out to the hallway reluctantly.

The rest of us changed into pajamas and piled into the giant bed. We turned out all the lights and giggled about love and boys. Zoe was the only one without a serious guy in her life, but she admitted that she'd had a couple interested in her and she in them.

They got me to talk about Adrian. Once I started, they kept prompting me to say more. Jill and I stayed awake long after my sisters fell asleep.

"Jill?" I asked softly, staring up at the dark ceiling.

"Sydney?" She said from the other side of Zoe.

"Does he really love me as much as he claims?"

"Of course he does. Why would you think any differently?"

"I don't know. All this stuff with my parents."

"You and Adrian are a forever kind of couple. Like Lissa and Christian. Not everyone is like that. I know how much he loves you because I can feel it. I was there when it all started. I think I knew before he did because he was too scared to let himself love again. But he loves you, Sydney. He loves you so much that sometimes it simply overflows into me even when I have the block firmly in place."

"Do you still hate the bond sometimes?"

"Yeah. The block is getting easier to put up. But it's still hard, like when I'm stressed and need to focus on a bunch of other stuff. And then you and Adrian start making out and I get images of you that I don't need when I'm studying. Images I don't really want to see anyway."

I laughed. "I'm sorry."

"Well, I'm glad you chose this time of year to get married. I don't have a whole lot going on in school."

"I thought you had your first big design project coming up?"

"Designing is second nature to me. I've been doing it for a while now. I can focus on the block well enough."

"Do you like your courses?"

"I do. I might have to take some on campus courses next semester. Not looking forward to that. I'll never have any time to do what I want."

"Welcome to college life, Jill." I chuckled.

"Do you ever wish you had gone? You still could, you know?"  
"I do wish I had sometimes. But I like where I am now. And in the event that Adrian convinces me to have a baby, my mother will be very forgiving."

She chuckled. "So are you thinking about it?"

"I know I would like to be a mother one of these days. But…" I yawned. "I don't know how I will be received anywhere as a former Alchemist with a Moroi husband. And then adding us raising our dhampir babies out in the open. Pretending they're human for all the general public knows."

"I get that you're scared, Sydney, but you don't need to be. You and Adrian will love your children no matter what. Who cares what any of the people here think? Or the Alchemists in wherever? They'll be _your_ blood. You will create them out of your love for each other. Don't stress over it. When the time is right, you and Adrian will make a very adorable and smart child."

"Thank you, Jill." I yawned again.

"Get some sleep. I need us all at the church to get ready no later than two tomorrow afternoon."

"Yes, ma'am." I chuckled and rolled over. I was so nervous that despite my exhaustion, I didn't get to sleep for a while.


	34. Chapter 34

_Author's note: This is it! Get those tissues ready!_

_I'll be writing the epilogue tomorrow. Marathon day of writing, guys, about 6,000 words._

_Again, thank you for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing. Please look for my one shots in this little world I've made._

_Happy reading!_

Chapter Thirty-Four

Jill worked on my hair as Carly applied my makeup. Zoe and Mom helped when they could, but they mostly sat back and watched.

Rose and Eddie were in and out of the room to check our progress. The former wore a black and white dress similar to the one she'd worn at the Christmas party last year. The latter was in a tux, his tie askew. Jill fixed it.

"Tell Adrian that I'm almost done in here. I'll be in to check him and then we'll start some of the pictures to get them out of the way. I'll need your help to keep the bride and groom separated until the ceremony."

"No problem, babe. I got this." He leaned in to kiss her.

She held up her hand. "Lipstick." She tapped her cheek.

He groaned and kissed her cheek. "I'll let him know how beautiful you all look." He left the room.

"Okay, let's get you into your dress and we'll do the last of the work." Jill said as she walked over.

When I was deemed perfect by my dresser, Mom walked over and picked up my arm. "This is your something old." She clasped a diamond bracelet around my wrist. "Your grandmother gave this to me on my wedding day. She wore it on hers as did her mother and grandmother." She kissed my cheek.

"I have the something new." Jill handed me a pair of diamond drop earrings. "Your mom and Adrian both helped me pick them out." She helped me put them in and then hugged me.

"The something borrowed is the clip in your hair." Zoe said. "It's my favorite and I asked Jill to use it."

I pulled my little sister close and kissed her cheek. "Thank you." I whispered.

"And now for something blue." Carly said. She took out a bit of fabric from the garment bag. "Garter belt. Let's hike up that dress."

I laughed and sat down to slip the band around my leg just past my knee. I stood again and hugged each of them. "Thank you all so much. You have no idea what this means to me."

"We want your day to be special." Mom said. "If you need anything else, let us handle it. Sit back and relax and know that this is going to be one of the best days in your life. No stress today, okay, baby?"

"None." I hugged her again.

"Okay. I'm going to go get the photographer. Carly and Zoe know where I want your first shots taken, so they will bring you there. I have all the guardians on the lookout. If they start to act oddly and gather a little closer, it's because Adrian is around. I've tried to help choreograph these first photos so you and he don't see each other. I want that moment when the doors open in the back to be magical. I expect a lot of tears." She smiled and left the room.

Carly looked out the door and then opened it and led me outside. For the next hour, I was photographed from several spots around the church in the late afternoon sun. As the first guests started to arrive, I was brought back inside to the bride's room.

I paced uneasily as I heard the sounds of the chapel filling with our guests. Adrian hadn't been able to get his mother to attend after all. He was torn up about it for a while, but we planned on sending her a copy of the ceremony so she could see it at least.

There was a knock on the door. I thought it would be someone telling me we were about to start, but when Carly opened the door, it was Abe Mazur. He was dressed in his signature bright colors.

"Wow, you are stunning, Miss Sage." He said as he looked me over.

"I'm not Miss Sage for much longer."

"No, definitely not." He looked over his shoulder at my sisters mother and then back at me. "Might I have a private word?"

"We'll step outside." Carly said.

As soon as the door was closed, Abe looked at me critically. "I know this is a big day, but I wanted to ask a tough question."

"All right."

"Is your father here?"

I smiled ruefully at him. "What do you think, Mr. Mazur?"

"I didn't figure he'd put aside his prejudice to see you get married."

"No. He almost wouldn't let Zoe come. She convinced him."

He smiled, "I'm glad. But perhaps he should have come to see we all made it in here without incident."

I laughed. "Maybe he should have."

"I have another question and I don't want you to feel obligated."

"What is it?"

"I would be honored…That is to say…May I escort you down the aisle, Sydney?"

I smiled. "That's very kind of you. But Rose is your daughter. One day she may decide to marry Dimitri and I don't want to steal her thunder."

"That's considerate. Though it may take a while for that. Rose is very much her mother. I can barely even get Janine alone half the time."

I chuckled. "Thank you again. My mother is going to give me away, but I'll walk alone."

He took my hands and kissed them. "Don't let a day go by without reminding him that you love him. And don't let him get away with it either. It took me eighteen years to realize that. Now I feel like I have to work even harder."

"I'll remember that." I wrapped my arms around him, surprising both of us. "Thank you for all your help over the years, even if most of it was illegal."

He laughed and patted my back. "Don't hesitate to ask ever again."

Carly stuck her head in the door. "Rose just came by to say they're ready to start."

"Okay." I looked up at Abe. "You should go find your seat. That'll give the attention you always crave."

He laughed and walked out of the room.

I picked up the bouquet of emerald and amber roses that perfectly matched the dresses my sisters and Jill wore. I walked out the door behind my sisters. I held back as they walked through the doors with a few paces between them. The two men holding the doors opened them wide.

And then the music changed. I looked up and saw Adrian standing at the front of the church. My breath caught and I paused as he stared me down. I saw him swallow. And then he took in a breath that was visibly shaky. Was he about to cry? I could already feel tears in my own throat.

I made myself walk as slowly as possible. I wanted to just run for all I was worth into his arms. But that wasn't how we had practiced. And that wasn't what they were expecting. I kept my eyes locked with Adrian's.

My mother met me at the front pew and walked the last few feet with me. She helped me up the stairs. I handed my bouquet to Carly. And then I was face-to-face with my groom. I reached up and wiped away a tear with my thumb.

"You're so beautiful." He said in a hoarse whisper. He wiped at my cheeks and chuckled.

"So are you." I sniffed. This was it.

The preacher started the ceremony.

"I, Sydney, take you, Adrian, to be my lawfully wedded husband…"

The words blended together. His words and mine became one as we pledged to love and support each other through everything.

And then came the exchange of rings.

Adrian slipped the ring on my hand and repeated, "I give you this ring, as I give you myself, with love and affection. Wear it in peace always." He kissed the ring and mumbled, "Unless you're in the shop."

I chuckled and then repeated the same words.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The preacher said. "You may now share your first kiss."

Adrian placed his hands gently on my face. "I love you. So much."

I put my hands on his waist. "I love you, too."

He kissed me softly, his arms coming around my back. And then he dipped me low, deepening the kiss just a little. I smiled against his lips as he brought me up and the room erupted in applause. I kissed him once more.

We turned to our guests and Adrian lifted our joined hands into the air. I felt myself laughing. Someone gave a shrill whistle and I suspected it was Rose.

I took my bouquet back from Carly. Adrian kissed my hand and led me up the aisle as the cheers seemed to grow louder. The smile on my face hurt. I had never been so happy.

As we made our way out the doors, Adrian stopped me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He lifted me up and spun me around. "We're married, Sydney!" He exclaimed.

I laughed. "We are!" I leaned down and kissed him again. "You are so wonderful."

"You're not so bad yourself." We shared another kiss as the guests started streaming out around us. He put me on my feet, but didn't break the kiss.

"We have to go pose for pictures now." I said against his lips.

"They can just take pictures of us right now." He kissed me again.

"I agree." I slipped my fingers up into his hair and pulled his mouth back to mine again.

"Hey, don't mess up his hair yet." Jill admonished, slapping at my hands. "I know you guys are excited, but can we please stay on schedule?"

"What was all that business about relaxing?" I asked. I wrapped my arms around Adrian's waist and rested my head on his shoulder.

He gently rubbed my back. "Yeah, you said the same thing to me, Jailbait."

"We need pictures of the wedding party together. Eddie has already tried to kiss me three times. I need my lipstick to stay just another hour. And yours needs to be touched up." She pulled a tube out of her purse.

"Wait." I gave Adrian a lingering kiss and then turned to the young woman. "Okay, let's get this over with."

Adrian and I kept sneaking kisses throughout the photo shoot. I'm sure each and every one was captured by the photographer. And any that he didn't get were snapped by someone's phone.

Adrian and I were posing for a photo with my mom when an imposing male figure walked over.

"Dad?" Adrian was just as shocked as I was.

"I'm sorry I missed the ceremony. I debated for a long time whether or not you wanted me there."

"We did." My husband (_husband!_) said.

"Well, again, I'm sorry. I still don't fully approve. But you've been good for my son. And I want to apologize." He held out his hand to me. "You're now my daughter-in-law and I will try to be better for my son's sake."

I shook his hand. "Thank you, Lord Ivashkov."

He forced a smile.

"We were about to take a picture, Dad. This is Sydney's mom Deborah. Would you like to join us?"

"All right." He stood on the other side of Adrian and rested a hand on his shoulder. He didn't smile.

When we were finally free of the posing, we walked into the fellowship hall behind the church. We had so many kind well-wishers. There were a few where were only slightly warmer than Nathan, but most seemed to approve of our marriage whole-heartedly.

Rose and Dimitri came over. Rose hugged me tightly and whispered, "Congratulations."

Dimitri leaned down and kissed my cheek, but said nothing.

Adrian pulled Rose into a hug and I heard him whisper, "Thank you for breaking my heart."

She whispered back, "Thank you for holding onto mine when I needed it most." She kissed his cheek and then stepped back. "If you hurt her, you'll have me to answer to." She warned.

"You're not the only one. Have you met my new sisters-in-law?" He chuckled.

I kissed his hand and started playing with his ring.

He looked at me and smiled. He pressed a kiss to my temple.

For the rest of the evening, when anyone came up, he said, "Have you met my wife, Sydney?"

We stole kisses and a few quiet moments in the crowd where we simply smiled at each other. We danced to the Cole Porter song and everyone looked on, transfixed. After a few dances, it was time to cut the cake.

"You better not shove that in my face." I warned.

He smirked. "Don't you trust me?"

"Not with this."

He held up his fork. "Open up, honey."

After being fed in a very civil manner, I decided not to be so kind. I picked up my bite and I _did_ shove it in his face. He picked up the last from his plate and returned the gesture. Then I pulled him to me for a kiss, loving the lingering glob of frosting on his mouth.

"How many times can I tell you I love you?" He asked.

I laughed. "As many as you want."

"I love you. I love you. I love you." He kissed me again and then turned to the room and screamed, "I love my wife!"

Everyone cheered.

"Let's dance, baby." He said, pulling me back onto the dance floor as Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker started playing.

I laughed. "I can't believe you sometimes."

"I can't believe myself half the time either."

I kissed him for the thousandth time as we danced close.

Jill stood up at the front of the room a short time later and got everyone's attention. "Hi, everyone. I'd like to take a moment and talk about my best friends. Adrian and Sydney are the perfect couple to anyone that knows them even a little. They are complete opposites. Adrian is pretty fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants. He's artistic, a very talented painter. Sydney, on the other hand, is very much about knowledge and thinking. She has to think about things a long time before she does them.

"Except when it came to Adrian's proposal. Adrian agonized about it for a long time. He loves Sydney in a way that I don't think even he understands. He asked my opinion on how to do it and when to do it and if he should buy the ring or ask and then let her pick one out. He talked about it for weeks, Sydney. I don't know if he ever told you that. It was about to drive me nuts.

"Finally one day he was getting ready to go visit her and he said, 'I'm just going to ask her, Jill. Just see what she says.' Obviously she said yes. She jumped right in. She didn't take a second to think. She knew she wanted to marry Adrian. Just as much as he knew he wanted to marry her.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glasses and congratulate Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Ivashkov."

The room exploded in cheers once more.

Then my sister got up and looked out at the crowd. "Okay, my turn. Adrian, thank you for falling in love with my sister. You couldn't have found a more loyal companion in human form. She will pick you up when you are down. She will laugh with you when you are happy. And she will encourage you when you think you can't go any farther.

"I've known Sydney all her life. When she was first born, I was jealous. Of course I was only three, so I got over it pretty quickly. A few years later when Zoe came along, Sydney was ecstatic. She was the complete opposite in her reaction. She always has been.

"I remember once when I was ten I had my heart broken by a boy for the first time. He lived next door. I would sit on our porch every afternoon just so I could wave at him when he got off the bus. I finally got the courage to walk over and speak to him. He told me I was weird because I was homeschooled and that he didn't want me to talk to him ever again. I was devastated. But Sydney, little seven-year-old Sydney, told me it wasn't the end of the world because I wasn't weird at all. I was perfect the way I was. And she loved me, so that was more important than a stinky old boy.

"Adrian, I hope you know what you've got in my sister. She's something very special to us."

He nodded and smiled at me. "She's special to me, too." He kissed me on the tip of my nose.

I pressed my face into his neck and breathed him in.

After Carly's toast, I threw the bouquet. Jill caught it and Eddie looked nervous. Then Adrian sat me down in a chair in the middle of the dance floor and, too slow for my tastes, removed the garter. He spun it around his finger as the group cheered. He looked to Eddie launched it straight at his face.

"You're next." Adrian warned.

The guardian shook his head and smiled at his girlfriend. She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss to his lips. Lissa, standing close by, patted her friend on the back with a large smile on her face.

We danced for several more hours. I was getting tired and so ready to leave. I started to wonder when a good time for us to sneak out would be.

My mom walked over to me as I sat out the latest dance. She sat in an empty seat beside me. "Do we need to have a talk about the birds and the bees?"

I laughed. "I've been reading up on it."

"I'm sure you have."

"We still haven't…not completely."

She gave me a shocked look. "Really? You've been living together all this time and you haven't slept with him?"

"Well, we've done…other things."

It took her a moment, but she got it. "Oh. Well, whatever works."

I laughed. "Oh, it has been." I felt my cheeks burning.

She giggled. "I'm so happy for you, Sydney. You make the smart choice every time."

I wrapped my arms around her. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you, too, baby." She hugged me back.

Adrian walked over and leaned over me. "I don't know about you, but this place is getting a little old. You know, all these people congratulating us every time we turn around. What's that about?"

I chuckled and picked up his hand. I kissed the finger where he wore his ring. "Something about us getting married."

"Oh, right, that thing."

"Yeah, that thing."

He laughed. "You ready to leave?"

"Kind of."

"So let's go." He put his mouth against my ear and whispered. "I want to get you out of that dress."

My cheeks heated up again. "I agree."

He pulled me to my feet and immediately to a kiss.

"Still not old, is it?"

"Not for a while." He smiled.


	35. Epilogue

_Happy reading!_

Epilogue

We dodged birdseed as we ran to the car. I laughed and brushed it out of my hair and Adrian's as he kissed me. We waved to the group of well-wishers. And then Adrian pulled me onto his lap and kissed me.

"So we're going to your apartment tonight?" I asked between kisses.

"Yes. And to Greece tomorrow."

I gave him a lingering kiss. "I'm going to drag you all over the place."

"I'll let you." He ran his hands over my body.

"We'll stay inside most of the day." I stroked his cheeks with my fingertips. "I don't want you becoming ill on our honeymoon."

"No, I've got a lot planned that wouldn't be fun if I got sunsick."

We kissed for the rest of the ride. Our hands roamed over familiar territory. But this time when we made love, it would be different.

The car stopped and the door opened, breaking us apart. We were there. I climbed out and waited for Adrian. He pulled some money out of his pocket and tipped the driver. Then he swung me into his arms and carried me to his apartment. He put me on my feet just inside the door.

He cupped my cheeks. "We'll do this slow, okay?"

"Okay."

"And if it would make you more comfortable, we could just keep doing what we have been."

"No." I kicked off my shoes and headed for his bedroom.

I pushed Adrian's coat off his shoulders and threw it across the room. His tie followed. He stood still as I unbuttoned his shirt and vest and kissed his chest.

He took my face in his hands and gave me a gentle kiss. "Turn around."

I did. He kissed the back of my neck as he slowly lowered the zipper. He kissed my shoulders as he pushed the straps off. I let it fall to the floor. Adrian wrapped his arms around me before I could turn around. He kissed my neck and all over my shoulders as he slid his hands over my stomach and hips.

"Let me touch you, too." I said softly.

He stepped away a fraction and I turned in his arms. I cupped his face and kissed his lips. I kissed his jaw, his neck, his shoulders. I wrapped my arms around his waist. My hands moved over his back and sides.

He led me to the bed. We removed the last bits of our clothes. Adrian picked up my left hand and kissed the finger with the new ring. "Let me make love to you."

"Please do."

He pulled me close for a deep kiss. He held me with one arm as he reached over and pushed the blanket aside. He laid me down on the bed, kissing me softly.

He leaned over me, pressing one knee between my legs. "We've still got a little bit to go." He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me briefly.

His hands moved over my body in agonizingly slow deliberation. I pressed my body up everywhere he touched. I wanted his hands on every inch of me all at once. I rested my hands on his waist as he continued his exploration of my body with his hands and his mouth. He nipped and sucked at my skin.

My fingers found his hair as he closed his mouth over my breast. A moan escaped me. He made his way further down my body. His mouth was suddenly on my hip, sucking hard on my skin. His slipped his hand between my legs and rubbed me slowly.

He replaced his hand with his mouth after a while. I tightened my grip on his hair and whispered, "Oh, yes."

He pressed his mouth closer. It was like he wanted to take in all of me. And I wanted him to. My head fell back as I let the sensation of his mouth moving over me in that familiar way. I felt like I was flying. And then I was a kite at the end of my string. I let myself go as the convulsions took over.

He kissed his way slowly up my body. Our mouths moved together as he held me close.

He lifted his head. "How do you feel?"

I smiled. "Wonderfully exhausted."

"Me too." He kissed me again.

I raised my hand and touched his face. "You're amazing."

He kissed me again. "Naw, just your husband. So, what's next?"

"I want to please you." I rolled him onto his back. I slipped my hand down his chest. "Am I doing any of this right?" I moved my mouth closer to his as I moved my hand over his erection.

"You know how to do this." He said around the breath caught in his throat.

"I want, um…"

"What?" He smiled. He already knew. "I want to hear you say it."

"I want you inside me."

"Gladly." He kissed me and pushed me away slightly. He reached across me to the box of condoms I hadn't processed being on the night stand until that moment.

"And now…" He struggled to open the package. "You sure you're ready for this?"

"I don't know." I took my hand away and watched as he rolled the contraceptive on. "Walk me through it."

He smirked. "I thought you already knew. All those books."

"Please, Adrian." I scolded.

He laughed and leaned over me. He kissed me. "I go here." He slipped a finger inside me slowly and started moving it. "If it hurts or is uncomfortable, tell me to stop."

I nodded and watched his face as he slipped a second finger inside me. It was a different sensation than when he had his mouth on me, but I liked it just the same. I rocked my hips up to his touch and let out a soft moan. I dug my fingers into his arms.

"You ready?"

"Yes." My hands slipped down his back as he moved between my thighs and entered me. I gasped in pain and screwed my eyes shut.

"Hey." Adrian said softly, slipping a hand into mine and lifting it up beside my head as he twined our fingers together. "Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"Don't play tough, honey. If it hurts too much—"

"I'm fine." I said through my teeth. I opened my eyes and squeezed his hand. I threaded the fingers of my other hand in his hair and pulled him to me for a kiss.

"I'm going to start moving now." He said against my lips.

"Okay."

He reached down and pulled my leg around his waist. He moved out of me slowly and back in. The pain was like nothing I'd ever experienced before.

"I'm sorry." I panted. "Just stop a second."

He paused. "It's okay, Sydney. Just relax. It's me. It's you and me." He slid his hand up my side. "It's okay." He said again, pressing a kiss to my mouth. "Tell me when you're ready again."

I took a few deep breaths and then nodded. "Okay, go again."

"You're sure?"

I gave him a wobbly smile. "Yes. Go on."

He kissed me again as he started moving once more. The pain was going away slowly. I felt less like wanting to die and more like wanting to be consumed by Adrian. _My husband._ I thought with a smile as I wrapped my leg around his and tightened my grip on his hand and hair.

Adrian closed his eyes and rested his forehead on mine as we moved together. I heard the soft grunting from the back of his throat grow louder.

He murmured, "I love you so much, baby. You're perfect. You're so perfect."

I pulled his mouth back to mine for a kiss. He slipped his tongue into my mouth and I stroked it with mine, sucking on it hard. Adrian broke the kiss suddenly and gasped out my name just before I felt him pulsating inside me. He slowed his movements and then he stopped. He kissed me once more and then rolled away.

He didn't let go of my hand. They were joined above our heads. I wanted to say so many things, but nothing formed on my tongue.

Adrian spoke a few minutes later when he regained his breathing, "How are you?"

"Fine." I said barely above a whisper.

"It's different, isn't it?"

"All of it is." I turned my head to find him watching me.

"I love you."

I rolled into him and kissed his shoulder. "I love you."

He smiled. "This is the best day of my life."

I pressed my mouth to his. "It'll get better."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

He rolled me onto my back and kissed me hard on the mouth. "I love you."

"You said that already."

"I'm going to say it all the time. Whenever the mood strikes."

"As long as you mean it."

"I do now. And I will always."

I moved my hands up into his hair. "I'll love you as long as I live."

He kissed me again. This kiss was full of all the promises we'd made that day. All the promises we'd ever made.

* * *

_Author's note: Thank you so much for reading this. Thank you for all the favorites and follows. And thank you for the reviews. You guys have always been so positive and I love that. Also, thank you to those of you who reblogged and liked my posts about this on Tumblr._

_I have some ideas for more of Josh and Marti. And if you don't know who they are, check out Playing Hooky and Build Your World Around Me (the latter is a Jeddie fic, but Marti makes her first appearance there)._

_Thanks again for reading!_


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